So You Know
by JakeTheCat
Summary: It seems like all troubles are over. Tamaki's not going to France, Haruhi is staying in the Host Club and everyone's happy. But what about secrets? And true feelings? And what happens when some new students arrive? Based on the anime.
1. Truth

**Hey there everyone! This is my first Ouran fic ever, so I really hope you like it. Just a heads-up, there will be OC's and a lot of romance (because that's just how I am). Before I start, just want to say thank you to my good friend/adopted sister CloudEnvy(insert name I can't spell here) for showing me Ouran High School Host Club, which is probably the best show I've ever seen! This fic takes place immediately after the ending of the anime (NOT THE MANGA) so if you haven't watched it, this probably won't make sense. I hope you guys like it!**

Chapter 1

Kyouya couldn't help but smile as he watched his best friend sitting on his bed, a confused look on his face. Tamaki was staring off into space, trying to sort out his feelings. He'd always thought Haruhi was like a daughter to him, but now, after what she'd done... his feelings were changing.

Actually, they'd always been this way but Tamaki was too dense to realize it. Kyouya, along with the rest of the Host Club, knew that Tamaki was head over heels for Haruhi, the commoner who'd managed to effect all of their lives dramatically. Without her, Kyouya didn't know where they'd be.

"That was a very heroic thing you did," he said as he wrote in his clipboard.

Tamaki blinked, coming out of space, and looked over to his friend.

"Jumping off a bridge to save Haruhi," Kyouya explained, "Very romantic."

"Romantic?"

For once, Tamaki's voice was soft. After tonight, he'd been more confused than usual and it had left him tired and weak. Kyouya nodded and continued to write, leaving Tamaki to soak in what he'd just said.

It was true that Tamaki jumped off a bridge to save Haruhi. But that was normal wasn't it? Wouldn't anyone jump off a bridge to help someone they cared about? And though Tamaki wasn't sure _what _he was feeling, he knew for a fact that he cared deeply about Haruhi.

There was suddenly a knock on the door that caused Tamaki to shoot straight up in the air and Kyouya to look over at the door indifferently.

"Sempai? Are you there?"

Tamaki's face reddened at the sound of Haruhi's voice and a small smile crept on Kyouya's lips. Tamaki jumped off his bed and scrambled around, looking for a place to hide.

"Come in, Haruhi," Kyouya said, earning a glare from Tamaki.

The door opened and Haurhi stepped inside, looking down at the ground. She was still in the white dress from the party, though it was a little damp after having fallen into a river with Tamaki. Kyouya rose from his chair, nodded to Haruhi and left without saying a word. Tamaki, who was leaning against the side of the bed, put his face in his hands. Haruhi quietly walked over and sat beside him.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said, "For coming back... I needed you to stay here with us."

Tamaki looked at her and saw that her face was bright red with embarrasment. What had she done?

"I mean _we! We _needed you to stay with us! Kyouya, Hunny, Mori, Karou, Hikaru and me!"

"You said _I,"_ Tamaki teased, _"You _needed me to stay here with you."

"That's not what I meant! The Host Club needs you to stay!"

"I think you meant what you said."

Haruhi's face was redder than it had ever been.

"You idiot!" she groaned, "I care about you and you're trying to make me admit it but it's not going to work!"

Tamaki's violet eyes widened as Haruhi slapped her hand over her mouth. Did she just say that she cared about him? He reached out and took her chin in his hand, turning her face towards his.

"I care about you, too, Haruhi," he murmured, "But not the way I thought... not like I'm your father... I don't want you to be kissed by other boys and I don't want you be alone with boys... but that's because I want to be the one to kiss you and be alone with you."

Haruhi's chocolate eyes got bigger than ever and sparkled as she looked at Tamaki.

"That's why the twins get on my nerves so easily," he continued, "They always look at you in this way that just makes me want to punch them in the face... I feel like they're going to steal you away from me..."

Haruhi had never seen this side of Tamaki. So vulnerable, so honest. Just looking at him like this made her realize that she felt the same way about him.

"You're... jealous of them?" she asked.

He closed his eyes tightly, nodding in regret. Haruhi sighed and touched his face gently.

"You shouldn't be," she whispered.

He opened his eyes and found Haruhi leaning closer to him. He caught his breath, but closed his eyes and moved towards her.

That was Tamaki's first real kiss, though he'd never admit it. And it confirmed everything he'd been questioning.

**In case you couldn't tell, I absolutely love the match up of Tamaki and Haruhi (I think they're perfect for each other) So there will be a lot of romance between those two. The OC's will come in sometime soon as well, so that should make things more exciting and not so focused on the two lovebirds. **

**Please review! I've never written anything like this so I could really use some feedback! Thanks!**


	2. A First

**Yay it's updating time! I'm kind of bummed that I only got two reviews for the last chapter, but at least some of you liked it! Also, I forgot to mention that the whole Host Club went to Tamaki's house after the party to hang out. That's kind of important :P **

**So in this chapter, an OC is introduced (yay!) and I've never done that for a fanfic, so I hope you like it. I'm pretty good at being creative but I want to make sure that the character seems realiztic and believable.**

**Anyways, I really hope you like this chapter! I wrote it all out yesterday and then my computer decided it'd be fun to delete it all so I had to rewrite it again today. I changed some things, hopefully for the better, so herer you go!**

Chapter 2

It seemed to be just another ordinary day at Ouran Academy. No events, no announcements. Just complete normalcy.

Kyouya stood outside the door to Music Room 3, writing thoughtfully in his notebook. Inside the doors, Tamaki was arguing with the twins over God knows what and Kyouya simply didn't want to have to deal with that today. Besides, Tamaki had to be able to defend himself. Kyouya wouldn't always be there to help him and Tamaki had to wake up and realize that.

The sound of footsteps became audible to Kyouya, but he didn't bother to glance that direction. There was little likeliness of it being someone of importance. But fate, as it so often does, decided to intervene.

An inconveniently placed banana peel appeared, causing the passerby to slip and land against Kyouya. His clipboard dropped to the floor in the process, but not before it smashed forcefully against his chest. A bit of yellow fabric caught his attention, making him realize that this was a girl. And as a Host, he had to make her happy. Kyouya lashed out his hands to catch her, allowing his trusty pen to fall alongside the clipboard.

"Oh my!" the girl breathed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

The girl tried to regain her balance, though she was still too flustered to really concentrate. Kyouya tried to help steady her, glancing to see who she was. It was certainly a surprise when he didn't recognize her. She had curly brown hair and pale skin, except for her face which was flushed pink. When he saw her eyes, he was somewhat mesmerized. They reminded him of the color of the ocean just before a storm.

"It's quite alright," he said as she managed to stand properly, "It was a mere accident. Why apologize?"

"I'm used to being blamed," she said, "So I should beat them to the punch, right?"

Kyouya raised his brow curiously. Why would she be used to being blamed? What was that supposed to mean?

"If that's what you think," he said.

She smiled weakly, refusing to reveal her teeth.

"I don't believe I've seen you here before," Kyouya said as he continued to examine her.

"Oh, I'm Matsumoto Airi," she said, "I recently moved in with my uncle and he had me transferred here. It's my first day actually."

A new student? How had he been left unaware of this? He always knew what was going on.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said anyway, "I'm Ootori Kyouya, the vice president of out school's esteemed Host Club. We'd appreciate it if you came by."

The girl shrugged, almost sending Kyouya into cardiac arrest. A shrug? Girls were supposed to scream and jump up and down at that! What was wrong with her?

"Maybe I will," she said, "But I have to go now. It was nice meeting you."

Before he could continue, she walked off the other direction, careful to avoid the banana peel that lay triumphantly on the floor, for it had accomplished what fate intended it to do.

As he was about to go into the room to join the others, Haruhi came walking up, wearing her male uniform. She smiled at Kyouya, who merely pushed his glasses up the brim of his nose in response.

"Hey, Kyouya-sempai," Haruhi greeted, "Why are you out here?"

"The king and the court jesters of the club are battling it out in there," he explained, "I thought I'd stand out here to avoid the mess that's going to ensue."

Haruhi rolled her eyes as he spoke.

"Why can't those guys just ever get along?"

"Probably because Tamaki doesn't want them stealing you away from him."

Haruhi's face flushed as Kyouya looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Tamaki is my best friend, Haruhi," he said, "You shouldn't be surprised that I'm aware of this. I know how you two look at each other, even if you two were too stupid to notice it up until he had to jump off a bridge to make you realize."

"Thanks, sempai," Haruhi grumbled.

"No problem. I just hope you can control him better than he can control himself."

"I doubt it, but I'll try," she said, "And could you not announce this to the others? I mean Tamaki and I haven't made it official or anything..."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me saying anything," Kyouya said cooly, "I'd be more worried about him."

Before she had time to respond, two loud voices from inside Music Room 3 screeched, "WHAT?"

The doors swung open and Kyouya slipped inside without being noticed, though Haruhi stood there like a deer in the headlights.

"You heard me!" Tamaki cried, "Haruhi and I are madly in love and neither of you can have her!"

Haruhi grimaced as Tamaki ran over and squeezed her half to death, Hikaru and Kaoru watching horror.

"Sempai," Haruhi sighed, "We just kissed. Turn it down a notch."

She was suddenly on her butt, looking at Tamaki moping in a corner. No surprise there. He'd get over it soon enough though.

"Wait," Hikaru breathed, "It's true? You guys are... dating?"

"We kissed," Haruhi said with a shrug, "He didn't ask me out or anything so not really."

Tamaki was suddenly at her feet, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Will you go out with me, Haruhi?" he asked sweetly.

"Only if you don't publically humiliate me," she muttered.

"Good luck," Kyouya laughed under his breath.

Tamaki beamed and started dancing around, singing something in French and glaring at the twins with pride. Haruhi groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. She had a feeling this relationship wasn't going to be the easiest one.

"You've got your work cut out for you, Haruhi," Kyouya said as his best friend paraded around the room, "Tamaki's never asked a girl out and I'm slightly afraid as to how he'll act on a date."

"He's on dates everyday in the Host Club," Haruhi pointed out apathetically.

"But now when it's just him and one girl. There are usually many girls and the rest of the club. He's new to this so... cut him some slack."

"Sure," Haruhi grumbled and began to walk off.

"Oh, Haruhi," Kyouya called, "Do you know of a girl by the name of Airi? She's a new student apparently."

"No clue. And did you not know or something? That's unlike you, sempai."

"Yes... I know."

Haruhi didn't know what was going on with her friend, but she didn't want to bother him. As she looked over at Tamaki dancing around, she realized that she had enough to deal with at the moment.

**And that is why I love Tamaki. He's just so ridiculous and crazy; he's a fun character to play around with. I feel like I'm focusing to much on Kyouya right now, which is weird because he's not my favorite (second behind Tamaki). _And _I haven't even mentioned Hunny or Mori! What is wrong with me? *slaps self in the face* I promise they'll come in soon because Hunny is too freaking adorable to leave out of a story and Mori's too cool. **

**By the way, if you like this story, then I'm begging you to review! I look more at reviews than hits for my story because if you review then that means it's more than just another story you read, know what I mean? So please, please review and more chapters will come a lot faster!**


	3. Shattered

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, CloudEnvyKunoichi and I were in Disneyland for a dance thing I had to do. And I'm happy to see that I at least got a couple reviews. But even more would be better and these chapters would come out faster! Also, this one's only coming out so soon because CloudEnvy has been bugging the crap out of me to get it out. So I really hope you guys like it!**

Chapter 3

The door opened to Music Room 3 as usual. The Host Club was open for business, so it was obviously just another client. Kyouya would go to her eventually and ask who she was requesting, but he was busy at his laptop, trying to figure out the profit the club had made this month.

Haruhi, who felt bad that the girl was getting ignored, decided to go over and greet her. She was a fairly small girl, like herself, but she seemed to be much more athletic and strong.

"Welcome to the Host Club," Haruhi said, "Do you have an appointment?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to make arrangements," the girl said in a defensive tone.

Haruhi could tell this girl wasn't prissy and dense as the other girls who visited the club. So why was she here in the first place?

"I ran into one of the hosts today," the girl said, "He mentioned it so I thought I'd drop by… I'm new here and my uncle said I should make some friends."

Uncle? What happened to her parents?

Kyouya looked to the side to see what was going on with Haruhi when he spotted Airi, the girl he'd spoken to earlier. The two of them were talking, and Airi didn't really look thrilled to be here. But that didn't matter. He'd lured her into coming here, so she obviously was interested in him, whether it was as a friend or something more.

Kyouya pushed himself away from his laptop to walk over to her. Even though he'd lured her here, she was now the one luring him to her, neither of them even knowing it.

Airi looked away from the feminine boy in front of her and could see the boy she'd met earlier walking towards them. She could see the guarded gray eyes behind the thinly rimmed glasses. What was he hiding?

"Hello again," he said as he approached the girls, "I see you took my invitation."

"I thought I'd see what all the hype was about," Airi answered, "But all it seems to be is girls who waste their time having guys pretend to like them. As if girls weren't used enough."

Kyouya raised a brow surprised. She'd been so shy before but now she seemed to be a completely different person. Still, he could see that something was locked behind her ocean eyes. What was she hiding?

Haruhi, who noticed the two were having a moment, stepped away to go back to her clients, smiling to herself. It'd be nice if a girl would be able to crack Kyouya and make him step outside his comfort zone. So far, it seemed that only she and Tamaki were able to understand him well. That wasn't enough to be happy though.

"We're here to make girls happy," Kyouya said, "And if they request our services, then we're doing our job right."

"Girls don't need boys to make them happy," Airi murmured.

He noticed her eyes began to water and he couldn't help but reach out to wipe the lone tear that escaped. Usually he avoided contact with his clients as much as possible (he wasn't a touchy-feely kind of person) but something inside him made him want to comfort her.

"No, they don't," he said, "But sometimes it's nice to hear a few kind words, isn't it?"

Airi looked at him, her eyes wide. Could he really be different? Unlike all the other guys she'd known? Her hopes began to rise, but instantly sunk as a memory invaded her mind.

"Not if they're lies," she hissed.

By now, the entire music room was quiet and watching the two of them in anticipation. Who was this girl? Why did Kyouya seem so interested in her?

Tamaki watched intently. He'd never seen his best friend close in on one girl like this. What would he possibly gain from her? She didn't appear to of much importance. What did Kyouya have up his sleeve?

Airi hoped that Kyouya would say something that would prove her wrong, but he just looked at her. A little too closely for that matter. It was almost like he was examining her soul. It both intrigued her and frightened her.

"I need to go," she breathed.

And before Kyouya could grab her, she'd run out of the room, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Kyouya just stood there, staring at her. She'd shattered him. The whole basis of the Host Club was to lie to girls to make them happy? But… no. No that wasn't true. All hosts were honest with their clients, especially Tamaki and Haruhi. That girl had no idea what she was saying.

"Do you like her, Kyouya?" Tamaki asked softly.

Kyouya caught his breath and saw his friend out of the corner of his eye, his violet eyes wide with concern. Tamaki knew him better than anyone else, and that was what scared him.

"She's merely a new student," Kyouya said bluntly, "Obviously she's not interested in our club. Now we should go back to our clients."

"Kyouya…"

"They are waiting, Tamaki."

The blonde bowed his head in defeat and walked off to his clients, who were watching in shock. All eyes fell heavy on Kyouya, and he felt like the walls were closing in on him. He was trapped. Without saying a word, he walked briskly towards the door, leaving with a slam behind him.

Tamaki knew that something was seriously wrong. Kyouya was always able to keep his cool. He looked around the room at the clients and other hosts who watched him intently.

"The Host Club is temporarily closed due to personal matters," he said, "We apologize, but this club is a family and if it's not functioning properly, it can't be good enough for you ladies. Thank you for understanding."

The girls, instead of pouting, got up and left the room without a word. They'd never seen Kyouya act like that, so something was obviously very wrong.

The club gathered together, all of them concerned for their friend.

"Haruhi and I will go look for him," Tamaki said, "We're closest to him so hopefully we'll get him to talk. Mori, Hunny go around school and see if you can gather any information about that girl. Hikaru, Kaoru, stay here in case either Kyouya or that girl come back."

None of them bothered arguing. When Tamaki's best friend was not himself, he'd do anything to help him. They all split up to do as their king commanded.

"Of course he makes us stay here," Hikaru grumbled once the others were gone.

"He's just worried about Kyouya," Kaoru sighed, "This is really weird for him you know."

Hikaru was about to continue arguing when the door opened and a small head poked inside. Shiny black hair fell in the doorway, pointing out a violin case.

"Am I in the right room?" a confused voice asked.

* * *

><p>"This is so unlike him!"<p>

Tamaki had been ranting the whole time they'd been searching for Kyouya, and Haruhi was starting to get kind of tired of it. Sure, she was kind of his girlfriend now, but she hadn't really gotten used to it. How was she supposed to deal with him?

Without really thinking it through, Haruhi reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. Tamaki looked at their interlocked hands in wonder. She'd taken initiative to progress their relationship. She was trying. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was nearby. The halls were empty. He then stopped short , causing Haruhi to bump into him. She grunted at the sudden impact and was caught even more of guard when he whirled her around and dipped her like they were in the middle of some dance.

"My heart is ever at your service, my dear Haruhi," he whispered.

For a moment, she thought it was just him being melodramatic, but as she looked in his violet eyes, she could see the complete honesty and devotion gleaming in them. She knew that he was a very passionate guy and had expected him to take things fast, but this was a little too fast. What if she wasn't able to keep up?

"I know you think this is fast," Tamaki said as though reading her mind, "But I've felt like this since we first met and only now do I get to tell you."

"Tamaki, just give me time," Haruhi whispered, "I really care about you and want to be with you, but let's not get carried away."

He gave her a sweet smile, showing her that he understood.

"If you love me only in my dreams, then let me be asleep forever," he murmured.

Haruhi had to admit that he had quite a way with words; it would probably help him with their relationship in the future. Up until now, she'd been able to resist his charm, but as that adoring gaze beat down on her she could feel her knees start to shake. Now she knew how all his clients felt.

"I see you two are having no problem with your newfound feelings."

Tamaki almost dropped Haruhi on her butt, yet managed to keep a grip on her as both their faces turned bright red. Haruhi could see Kyouya looking over Tamaki's shoulders, pushing his glasses up the brim of his nose as he watched the two of them get flustered.

"I'm not trying to interrupt you, Romeo," Kyouya said cooly, "I just happened to be walking by and witness it... just be grateful I don't have a camera, Haruhi."

"Senpai!" she cried, becoming more angry than embarrassed, "Don't joke about that! You could get me expelled!"

Kyouya just shrugged as the two of them got up and tried to collect themselves.

"We were looking for you," Tamaki muttered, "We were worried when you ran off."

"I just went to get a drink of water," Kyouya said, giving his friend a weird look.

Both Haruhi and Tamaki looked at him confused. Hadn't he run off in anger?

"You were mad..." Tamaki said slowly.

"You know me, Tamaki," Kyouya said in a low voice, "I'm not easily upset."

Haruhi and Tamaki exchanged nervous glances. Something was definitely wrong.

**So how was it? Obviously Tamaki and Haruhi aren't falling for Kyouya's act and are trying to get to the bottom of it. Airi seems to be causing a lot of problems, huh? Oh I finally mentioned Mori and Hunny (very briefly, but I did)! I know this seems to center a lot around Kyouya, but I'm trying to branch away (notice the violin case part and entry of new person). Now the story will start to pick up pace, or so I hope. **

**I always ask, but please review! It means so much to me just to hear a few nice words about my work. Or criticism, if you have any for me (there probably is a lot). Your reviews are what make me want to keep writing and updating! So until next time, see ya!**


	4. Really?

**Hi again. I'm kind of bumming that no one's reviewing, but I felt like putting up another chapter. So hopefully this one will give you guys the urge to click that review button at the bottom of the page. Hope you like it! It was fun for me to write and I hope it's fun for you to read. **

Chapter 4

"What room are you looking for?" the twins asked in unison.

The person stepped inside the room, clutching their violin case close. It was a girl (not the one who'd caused Kyouya to explode though) with straight black hair that reached her waist and curious green eyes.

"I don't really know," she said, "My parents dropped me off here for my violin lessons but I don't think this is even the right place."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other and shrugged.

"This is Ouran Academy," Kaoru said.

"Music Room 3, to be exact," finished Hikaru.

"Oh," the girl said embarrassed, "I'm supposed to be attending this place, but not until next week while my family and I get settled in… I guess they got the addresses confused."

"Couldn't they tell this place is a little big?" the twins asked.

"They're kind of oblivious," the girl replied, "We're always moving and running around, so they don't pay much attention to detail. Oh, I'm Long Mai."

Both the boys looked at her with wide eyes.

"Long Mai?" Hikaru gasped.

"As in the daughter of Hsiu Mei and Keung? The famous Chinese musical geniuses?" Kaoru continued.

Mai shrugged and nodded, tightening her grip on the violin case.

"That's me," she sighed, "My parents are touring in Japan right now, so I'm here for a few months."

"Well, nice to meet you. I'm Hitachiin Hikaru and this is my twin brother Kaoru."

"Pleased to meet you. I'd like to stay, but I should go call my parents and see if I can get a ride to my actual lesson."

The brothers nodded and watched her leave, only to look at each other the second the door shut.

"Isn't it strange that she already has lessons when she _just_ moved here?" Hikaru asked.

"The Longs are very serious about their music," a matter-of-fact voice pointed out.

The twins whirled around and saw that the rest of the Host Club had somehow materialized behind them in their typical positions. Hunny was eating cake with Usa-chan, Mori watched over him protectively, Kyouya was looking at his clipboard and Tamaki was fawning over Haruhi.

"Since Mai is an only child," Kyouya continued, "She is being heavily trained in the family's expertise."

"How do you know that, sempai?" Haruhi asked curiously.

"I've known the girl for a little while," Kyouya answered, "Her parents played at a party my father held a few years ago. She and I got along fairly well. I knew she was coming to the academy, but not for another week."

"Yet that other girl somehow slipped through your radar undetected," Hikaru taunted.

Kyouya stiffened and pushed up his glasses.

"I will solve that mystery sometime in the future," Kyouya said harshly, "But for now, we are to please Miss Long. The girl doesn't stay in one place for extended periods of time, so we should make her time in Japan a good one."

"That must be hard," Haruhi sighed, "Moving around all the time and never having one actual home."

"She's probably used to it," Hikaru said indifferently, "And who _wouldn't _want to travel all the time? Sounds like fun if you ask me."

"No one did," Tamaki snapped.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes at the king, but Kaoru restrained him from doing anything stupid.

"I'm going to make sure Mai made it to her lesson," Kyouya said, "It'd be nice to see if she remembers me."

"We're bored, so we're leaving, too," the twins said.

All three of them left, leaving Hunny looking at the others hopefully.

"Will you eat cake with me?" he asked.

"I would, but I have to get home and make dinner for Dad," Haruhi said.

"I'll give you a ride," Tamaki blurted, jumping at the opportunity to spend more time with her.

He practically swept her off her feet and bolted out of the room, leaving Hunny alone with Mori.

"Will you eat cake with me, Takashi?" he asked hopefully.

Mori looked at him and gave a tight nod.

"Of course, Mitsukuni."

* * *

><p>Kyouya looked up at the building his driver had dropped him off at. It was a privately owned performing arts center that only the best of the best could get into; not even money could buy your way in. It was no surprise that Mai could get in due to her prestigious lineage.<p>

The young man walked up the steps to the door, only to realize that he needed a key to enter. To obtain a key, he had to belong to the center, which he obviously did not. He turned around to go back to his car when someone ran into him, their heads hitting.

"Watch it!" he hissed.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Kyouya's eyes widened. There was no way.

He pulled back and found himself staring right at Airi. Really? Was God trying to tell him something?

Airi's eyes widened in shock as she absorbed the image of the person in front of her.

"Are you stalking me or something?" she muttered, "This is getting kind of creepy."

"I was coming to visit an old friend," Kyouya said defensively, "But I can't get in… what are you doing here?"

He looked to see that she was holding a pair of worn-out Pointe shoes in one hand and a key in the other. He raised his brows in shock.

"You're a dancer?" he asked.

She scowled and moved past him, shoving the key inside the door.

"I'm running late and talking to you is just taking up more time," she snapped.

With that, she shut the door on him, leaving him standing there and wondering who this girl really was.

* * *

><p>"You know my dad's still not a huge fan of you, right?" Haruhi asked.<p>

Tamaki winced at the thought of Ryoji attacking him. He'd tried to be nice to Haruhi's father, but the two of them hadn't met on a good note and it seemed that Ryoji would never forgive that spoiled rich kid.

"I know," Tamaki admitted, "But he'll warm up to me... right?"

Haruhi looked at his hopeful expression and quickly turned away. It was impossible to guess how her father was going to react when she told him she was now dating Tamaki. He might accept it or it could lead to World War Three.

Tamaki looked away from Haruhi in defeat, knowing that Ryoji wouldn't approve of him if he was the last man on earth. He noticed that the side of the road they were walking on was lined with bushes that held a pretty pink flower of some sort. Tamaki smiled weakly and plucked one from the bush, bringing Haruhi to a halt. She turned just as he did so that they were close enough to kiss.

"I don't know what your father thinks of me," Tamaki said, "Or if he'll ever change his mind, but _I _know that I'm the luckiest person alive to be with you."

He tucked the flower's stem behind her ear, smiling as she blushed a little.

"If you want to be with me, then you need to be yourself," Haruhi told him as she reached for his hand, "I don't think anyone is actually that poetic."

"You forget that I'm half French," he teased, "I speak the language of love and now I can use it with you. I don't share that with just anyone. You're special."

"You sound so ridiculous, but for some reason I think I like it."

Tamaki bent down and kissed her lips softly, squeezing her hand as he did. She really was something special, whether she believed it or not.

**It was kind of short-ish, but my mind is starting to die on me. I'm trying to branch out on POV's obviously, so hopefully that makes it more interesting. **

**If you like this, PLEASE review. I'm starting to feel like only one person reads this and if so, it's kind of pointless to keep updating. So if you like it, pretty please let me know! Thanks1**


	5. Complicated

**Hi again. I'm just really bored today and have all these ideas (including a moment from Black Swan which is really weird because I've never even seen that movie but I know it's really freaky) so I'm updating like a maniac! No one's reviewing except Kunoichi still, but my computer's acting weird so I'm really hoping it's a glitch and you all love it! So here you go!**

Chapter 5

Kyouya tried to stop thinking about her. He truly did. She was of no importance. There was nothing special about her. She wasn't from wealthy lineage. She only attended Ouran because her uncle was raising her and he happened to be filthy rich through marriage. But that didn't mean she was special.

So why couldn't he stop thinking about her?

It'd been two weeks and he hadn't seen much of her. Only an occasional glance when passing by in the hall. But the second he laid eyes on her he was practically glued. And he didn't understand why.

"Kyouya? Are you ok?"

The young man blinked and looked away from his laptop screen to Haruhi, who was watching him worriedly. She'd noticed that he'd been acting different, but now it was starting to get almost scary.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Kyouya said coolly, "Why?"

"The Host Club isn't open and you're still here. Tamaki and I were worried so we stayed."

Kyouya glanced over at Tamaki staring out a window, his hands in his pockets.

"You worry too much," he sighed, "I'm fine. You'd know if I wasn't."

"But you're acting strange, sempai. You're so spacey and out of it… what's going on?"

"Haruhi… let me talk to him," Tamaki said.

Haruhi glanced over at her boyfriend, who was still looking out the window. Tamaki and Kyouya were best friends, so it was probably best if the two of them talked it out.

She never thought that it would be Tamaki talking the sense into Kyouya.

* * *

><p>Airi took a deep breath and rose on the tip of her Pointe shoes, gracefully bringing her arms above her head. She could see her instructor standing in the corner of the room, watching her intently.<p>

The classical music began to play and Airi was swept away into her own little world. In her world of dance, nothing could hurt her. She was the beautiful princess who everyone watched and adored. At least that's how it had been at her old dance studio.

"Attack it!" her instructor yelled, "Don't pretend to do the moves, _do _them!"

Airi gulped as she continued to turn in center, her toes aching as she tried her hardest to press them into the floor like her instructor said.

"Use your energy! This isn't little kid stuff you're trying to get in a company, damn it! Dance like you mean it!"

The girl leapt through the air, landing with hardly a sound, forcing her legs to stretch farther than they ever had. As she began to go into her next move, the instructor turned off the music. Master Kato was a middle-aged man who'd been in just about every ballet known. Of course he wouldn't take a dancer who was just adequate.

"You're in the big leagues now, Miss Matsumoto. If you want a company to accept you, you have to dedicate your whole life to this. It's not just a hobby. This is your life now."

"Yes, Master Kato," Airi said, bowing her head in respect.

She backed up against the wall and watched as the next student was criticized. She'd always loved ballet; it made her feel beautiful and graceful. But now it seemed like a harsh and cold world that had the fun completely sucked out of it.

Once class ended, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room, grateful it was over. She smiled weakly as she remembered the times when she would dance with her mom and think about how perfect she was and that she wanted to be just like her.

"You're very good."

Airi gasped and whirled around to see who'd spoken to her. She was met with a tall man wearing glasses, a nice white shirt and black slacks. It was him!

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"My family is having dinner with another family whose daughter happens to go here," Kyouya explained, "I came by so I could escort her. I wasn't sure where to go and I happened to pass by this dance room… your dancing is exquisite."

Airi was surprised at the compliment. He'd seemed kind of snobbish before, but now he seemed to be genuinely sincere. She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and pushed some of her hair out of her face.

"Not according to my instructor," she sighed, "He doesn't think I take it seriously."

"I beg to differ. You move with immense passion… it's very impressive."

"Thank you, but I don't think you're a ballet expert so your definition of good isn't the same as my master's."

"Just being nice. Talent like that deserves to be recognized."

The girl straightened her shoulders and looked him square in the eye.

"If you're trying to woo me like those mindless airheads who go to your club, think again," she challenged, "My heart is under lock and key and a few words aren't going to win me over."

Kyouya took a step closer to her, a devilish smile forming on his lips.

"I never said I was going to try."

Her face flushed but she refused to look away. He was not going to win this battle.

"All you guys do is try to make girls fall in love with you," she shot back, "Why would I be an exception?"

"Because I'm not working right now. This is just a boy and a girl talking, and apparently you believe that I'm trying to get you to fall in love with me."

"I never said that!"

"And if you think I want you to fall in love with me, then you _must _want to."

"Stop it!"

"You want me to win you over. You want me, don't you?"

He was met with a slap in the face, which he'd been expecting. He was purposely trying to push her buttons and had done quite a good job.

"My sincerest apologies," he said as he bowed his head, "I crossed a line I shouldn't have. I plead for your forgiveness."

She paused a moment and looked at him. What was with him? Why was he so cocky? Of course she didn't want to fall in love with him! He was an arrogant snob! Wasn't he?

"I'll think about it," she said softly.

"I appreciate your consideration and I..."

"Kyouya? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

Both of them turned to see a girl heading towards them, a violin case in her hand. Kyouya straightened his back and bowed in respect to her.

"Miss Long, I'm here to escort you to dinner," he said firmly.

Mai smiled and shook her head, looking over at Airi and giving her an exasperated look.

"Kyouya, you're too formal. But I appreciate your chivalry. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. I was just speaking to this forthcoming ballerina. I think even you would be impressed."

Mai looked at the girl curiously. Even though her family was music oriented, they were experts in all things performing arts, including dance.

"I'll have to watch you sometime," Mai said, "Perhaps put a good word in with Sasaki's."

Airi's jaw dropped. The Sasaki family controlled one of the biggest talent agencies in Japan that had discovered almost all of Japan's modern celebrities.

"Come on, Kyouya," Mai said, "It was nice meeting you, miss."

Mai turned to head for the exit, but Kyouya turned to the dumbstruck Airi. He gave her a smirk and leaned over to her.

"You're welcome," he whispered.

The ballerina watched as he left, completely entranced.

* * *

><p>Haruhi sat looking at her friends curiously as they all ate dinner. She'd invited the club over for dinner, and al l but Kyouya came since he already had dinner plans. Apparently his talk with Tamaki had worked and he had acted completely normal before leaving. She just hoped that it would stay like that.<p>

Once they'd all finished eating, the boys all sat in the living room discussing something about a fundraiser for the club. Only Mori stayed behind, helping Haruhi washing the dishes. She'd said he didn't have to, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Do you know anything about why Kyouya's acting so strange?" Haruhi asked.

"No."

Of course, no more than one syllable answers from Mori. But she didn't mind. She kind of liked being around Mori. He was just so calm and quiet, unlike the others. It was a nice breath of fresh air.

"I bought some cake for dessert," she said, "I thought Hunny would like that."

He just grunted in response as he dried one of the plates with a rag. There was a loud eruption of noises from the living room as Tamaki argued with the twins over only God knew what. Mori shook his head and continued to methodically dry the dish.

"What do you think of that Mai girl?" Haruhi asked in an attempt to make small talk, "She's pretty famous."

"Ya. She seems fine."

He seemed pretty apathetic about the topic, so she decided to try something else.

"What about Airi? The one who seems to be driving Kyouya up a wall?"

Mori hesitated, looking into the soapy water the sink held. He wasn't sure what to say. Haruhi looked at him curiously. Usually he responded so easily; he never ahd to think about an answer. This was just so unlike him. What was with the Host Club boys lately and their out of character attitudes?

"She's… pretty." Mori finally said, "Very pretty."

Haruhi paused. Pretty? She'd expected "fine" like what he'd sad about Mai. Why would he say pretty? That wasn't normal for him. Then again, she'd never known how Mori acted when he liked a girl. So, she just brushed it off and acted like it was nothing. Only for Mori, it was much more.

**This story is going to be so complicated you have no idea. I had to draw a diagram of the relationships today so I could keep track of them! I'm hoping this will keep you all in suspense and will make you want to do stuff like, I don't know, review maybe (hint hint wink wink nudge nudge).**

**Also, thank you UnintentionalLiar for the criticism, it really helps. Not all reviews have to be complete praise or complete bashing. **

**Catch the _Black Swan _moment? I haven't even seen that movie and it makes me glad that I quit ballet a few years ago. *shudder***

**You probably guessed, but here's the time when I ask you to review! Please? For me?**


	6. Restart

**Yay reviews! I love you guys! *tears up* You honestly don't know how much it means to me. Writing is like my world I can go into to get out of my messed up life and when you praise it I feel like at least some people appreciate it. Enough of my sob story, you probably just want to read, huh? Oh, well. As long as you review, I don't care! This chapter's kind fo short and boring, but I felt like things were going fast so I shoved a little filler in here. It's not all filler, but most of it is. So read on!**

Chapter 6

"You really think so, Tamaki?" Haruhi asked.

"I _know. _I've never seen him like this. He's head over heels for this girl, even though he doesn't know it."

Haruhi and Tamaki simultaneously looked over from the table they were at to glance at Kyouya who was busy with three clients. He was talking to them quietly and politely as usual, but he kept glancing at the door, as if waiting for someone to come in.

"I don't know," Haruhi sighed, "Kyouya doesn't seem to be the type who falls in love at first sight… or at all, for that matter."

Tamaki gave his best friend a sympathetic glance.

"He has feelings, Haruhi. It's just hard for him to express them."

"But this girl… she doesn't seem to like him."

"That's why he's so smitten. He wants what he can't have. It's almost like a game to him. If he gets her, he wins."

"That's a little messed up, don't you think?"

"His father raised him that way… Kyouya's a great guy, but you can't tear him from his roots."

The girl watched as Kyouya moved his hand in a formal gesture to one of his clients. He seemed so stable and collected. How could he be bottling up all his feelings and stay so relaxed?

"Do we know much about this girl? Airi?"

"Kyouya mentioned she was a dancer. Other than that, his lips were sealed."

Well that wasn't very helpful. This was going to be harder than Haruhi had anticipated.

Just then, the door Kyouya had been glancing at opened, revealing two girls in the Ouran uniform. Haruhi instantly recognized them as Mai and Airi. This should be interesting. She looked over to see Kyouya's reaction. He looked calm and collected as normal, but his gaze was fixed on the brunette.

For once, the girl didn't look angry when she saw him. In fact, she gave him what appeared to be a smile. Tamaki almost fell out of his chair. Had something happened he didn't know about? That couldn't be possible!

Kyouya rose from his chair and went over to greet the girls, all of the hosts watching intently.

"Miss Long, Miss Matsumoto it's a pleasure to see you," he said bowing, "But I don't believe either of you have appointments."

"I'm here to discuss some fundraising matters with the president of the club," Mai said, "And Airi was wondering if she could speak with you."

Kyouya turned his full attention on Airi, who just stood up straight and looked back at him.

"Certainly," he said, "Let's just step outside the room so we can have our privacy."

Airi nodded in agreement and the two of them went out the door much to everyone's disappointment. Tamaki practically flew from his chair to try and get at the door, but Haruhi grabbed him before he could leave the table.

"I have to know what's going on!" Tamaki whined, "He's my best friend!"

"He left on purpose so _you _wouldn't eavesdrop," Haruhi pointed out, "I'm sure he'll tell you when he comes back inside. Meanwhile, I think someone's here to see you."

Tamaki turned and saw that Mai was standing there, smiling graciously.

"Suoh-san," she said, "I'd like to discuss an idea I had about a fundraiser for the Host Club."

* * *

><p>Kyouya closed the door softly behind him, grateful to be away from all the eyes on him. Why were all the awkward things happening to him lately? He turned to Airi, who was waiting patiently.<p>

"Yes?" he said.

"I… just wanted to apologize."

He was certainly shocked. An apology? That was the last thing he expected.

"I'm really not such a bitch," she said, "It's just… I recently lost my parents and when I came here, everyone seemed to think they were better than me and it was hard to adjust…"

Kyouya nodded understandingly. He'd assumed something happened to the girl's parents, but he wasn't aware that they'd passed away.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said sympathetically.

"It's ok. I'm sorry that I took all my anger out on you when I hardly even knew you… Do you think we can start over?"

He smiled softly as she extended her hand to his.

"Sure."

The two shook hands and reintroduced themselves for no particular reason.

"Also, I never thought you were being a bitch," Kyouya said, "It's hard to adjust."

She smiled weakly in appreciation.

"Thank you for understanding."

"Thank you for giving me a second chance."

* * *

><p>"Would you calm down?" Haruhi sighed, "You look like you're about to have a hemorrhage."<p>

Tamaki rolled his eyes as the two of them walked down the street together. There happened to be a market on a street near Haruhi's home that night and Tamaki was more than thrilled to go to a commoner's gathering. After talking to Mai about the fundraiser and seeing Kyouya happy and coming here, his happy meter was at an ultimate high.

As they walked around and looked at all the stalls, Tamaki seemed to be like a little kid in a candy store. He grabbed at practically everything, always tugging on Haruhi's arm to show her something he thought was amazing.

At first it was kind of annoying, but as she saw the genuine excitement and happiness in his face every time he discovered something new, she thought it was really sweet.

Come to think about it, he was really starting to grow on her. He was always such a gentleman, romantic, polite… even if her dad didn't approve of him.

Without warning, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the road onto the sidewalk, leaning against one of the buildings. Tamaki gasped in surprise and almost fell on top of her, but managed to keep his balance by pressing his hands against the wall, one on either side of Haruhi's body. When he saw what kind of a position they were in, he blushed like mad.

"It's really fun being around you, Tamaki," she breathed, "I'm having a really good time."

He looked surprised for a moment, but a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Me too," he whispered.

Haruhi reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck, looking at him thoughtfully.

"Don't tell anyone," she murmured, "But I think I'm falling for you…"

Tamaki's eyes widened and he stared at her in shock. Had she said what he thought he heard? Haruhi laughed at his stunned expression and shook her head.

"Kiss me, you idiot!"

Tamaki blinked and smiled sheepishly at her before leaning in and doing as she said.

**I just love Tamaki and his oblivious ways. I love him with Haruhi so whenever the're together, you should probably get ready for a lot of fluff (because I just 3 fluff) and other romantic gooey stuff. **

**I kind of don't like the part with Airi and Kyouya at the moment, but it'll make more sense in the chapters to come. Right now it just seems kind of weird, even to me and I wrote it!**

**Oh, I know that Haruhi is kind of out of character here, but I did that because now that she's falling in love with Tamaki, she's starting to change in some ways.**

**So... you guys love me right? Or at least this story? Then prove it by reviewing! Do I have to bribe you...? -_- Fine. If anyone reviews before my next update I will give you a shoutout and possibly use an idea (if you have one) of yours in my story. See, _now _who wants to review? ;) Even if you don't, oh well, at least the numbedof visitors are going up! As long as you're reading it and liking it, you'll make me happy! Thanks everyone!**


	7. Awkward

**Hi everyone! I definitely thought more people would review, but I only got two from people who aren't my friends in real life. (Thank you DajieOotori and fmababe1124!) Do you guys not like it? *cue Hunny pouting* Well, if you do like it, I hope this chapter please you! It actually made me laugh at the end so it's not all serious. Enjoy!**

Chapter 7

"A what?" Kyouya asked as he gaped at his friend.

"A talent show!" Tamaki squeaked with joy, "For the fundraiser! Good idea, huh?"

Kyouya's brow twitched as he watched the smile on Tamaki's face get even bigger. When had this happened?

"I thought it was a good idea," Haruhi chimed in, "Something fun and different."

"And we decided that it'll be a partner talent show!" Hunny added, "All the girls who want to do it will sign up, we pick seven and each one gets one of us as a partner. Isn't that great, Kyo-chan?"

Kyouya couldn't help but think that Tamaki had something to do with the partner part, but he had to admit it was kind of a good idea. They'd never done something like that before and they had to keep things fresh.

"How are we going to raise money for it though?" he asked, "Won't there have to be prizes for the winners?"

"No, it's just for fun," the twins said together, "We'll charge for admission for people who want to watch."

It seemed that they all thought this was a brilliant idea, so it wasn't like he could try to argue.

"When does it begin?" he sighed.

Mori suddenly appeared with a huge bag filled with little slips of paper, making Kyouya's eyes widen.

"We already had the willing girls write their name on a piece of paper," Tamaki said, "Now we each pick one and that's who our partner is."

They all drew names of regular clients they had, which wasn't a surprise to any of them. But when Hikaru chose the paper that belonged to Mai Long, that was another story.

"Do as she says," Kyouya said, "You know how important it is that she stay happy while here."

Hikaru rolled his eyes and looked to see who his brother had received. Kyouya finally reached forward and pulled out a paper that had been quite crumpled up. He unfolded it and read the name written. As he read it, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Fate had triumphed over him yet again.

* * *

><p>"I don't get you, Kyouya," Fuyumi sighed as she looked at her youngest brother, "First you hated her, then you made up, now you're upset that you have to spend time with her?"<p>

"It's not that," he said, "It seems as if she won't get out of my life… I run into her all the time and now this?"

Fuyumi smiled as she watched her brother stare off into space. How could he not know he was lovesick? Was he really that dense? Perhaps Tamaki was starting to rub off on him.

"Kyouya," she sighed as she walked over to him, sitting down beside him, "You need to stop worrying so much. Let life take its course. Maybe this is life's very forceful way of trying to guide you in the right direction."

"What would I be gaining from her?"

Fuyumi looked at him sadly. Everything was always about getting something with him; always so manipulative.

"Just try to give her a chance," she said, "You might be surprised."

Kyouya sighed and flipped the pen in his hand in circles. Be surprised how? What did this girl have to offer him?

"Give her a chance, Kyouya," Fuyumi repeated as she stood up, "Don't judge someone before you get to know them."

* * *

><p>Airi looked at him confused.<p>

"You picked my name?" she asked.

"It was a random drawing," Kyouya replied, "And it would appear that you and I are partners for the upcoming talent show."

All of the girls whose names had been chosen had been called to Music Room 3 to discuss ideas for the talent show. Unfortunately, it seemed that all the girls but Airi were too busy gaping at their partners to think of an idea.

"That could be fun, I guess," the girl said with a shrug, "What talent did you have in mind?"

"Well, you're quite the dancer, Miss Matsumoto."

"And you, Mister Ootori?"

Kyouya looked at her surprised. He'd hoped that she would soak in the compliment like other girls would. Why did she have to make this so difficult?

"I know how to ballroom dance," he answered, "As any gentleman should. Though I don't have any experience in ballet."

Airi raised a brow as if in shock that he could dance at all. He carried himself gracefully, but she just couldn't picture him dancing.

"Prove it," she said, "I don't want to merely assume you can dance."

Kyouya smiled slightly and bowed to her.

"Of course, mademoiselle."

Tamaki, who'd been watching to make sure Kyouya and Airi fell madly in love, jumped at the opportunity to help out his best friend. He went over to the stereo and turned on a classical song to waltz to.

Kyouya offered his hand to Airi, who gently took it in hers, placing her other hand on his shoulder. A tiny gasp escaped her lips as he placed his hand on her waist, but she was sure that he wasn't able to hear it.

Kyouya couldn't help but smirk as he heard her let out the little breath. Instantly he began to sweep her around the floor with impressive grace, everyone in the room watching. At first Airi was caught off guard, but as she let the music flow into her she began to lose herself in the dance.

He could feel her starting to put more effort into the moves, becoming more willing to wherever he led her. Who was she to judge whether he was a good dancer or not? Might as well prove it to her.

As everyone watched, Kyouya spun her around and dipped her so low that her hair was almost touching the floor. Their noses were practically touching, their eyes locked on each others. The girls in the room let out fan-girl squeals of adoration, hoping that the two would do what everyone hoped.

Tamaki was clinging to an annoyed Haruhi, his eyes shining with hope. Though she wouldn't admit it, Haruhi was kind of excited, too. Would Kyouya finally step out of his box?

Airi looked into Kyouya's eyes a moment longer, unable to tear her view away. Yet the second he blinked, she was snapped out of his trance.

"Well, dancing it is!" she said quickly, "You seem decent enough… I must go now! I'll talk to you about this later!"

She pulled herself out of his arms and ran to the door as quickly as she could, everyone but Kyouya watching. Instead, he just stood there, straightening his back and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"_Kyouya! Run after her!" _Tamaki screeched.

Kyouya said nothing and simply walked forward, not turning to look back at anyone. The other girls, who were pretty sure Airi was insane, left to go see what was wrong with her. The twins, Mori and Hunny went after them seeing as how they hadn't really accomplished anything after staring at the couple dancing.

"Sempai…" Haruhi said softly, "Is everything okay?"

Kyouya stopped in front of the door to the changing room at the other side of the music room.

"Of course, Haruhi," he said, "Why would anything be wrong?"

He stepped inside the changing room and locked the door behind him, the only noise being the music that was still playing.

"May I have this dance?"

Haruhi turned to see Tamaki extending his hand to her graciously.

"Shouldn't we be worrying about Kyouya-sempai?" Haruhi asked.

"Once he comes out, he'll be ready to talk," Tamaki answered, "Until then… your answer?"

She smiled weakly and took his hand, not bothering to give him an actual answer. The two of them began to dance to the music, even though they weren't nearly as graceful as Kyouya and Airi had been. In fact, Haruhi kind of had two left feet.

So it was no help that the door suddenly swung open, causing Haruhi to trip and stumble, dragging Tamaki down with her as she landed on her back. He fell on top of her, quickly putting his hands on either side of her so she wouldn't be crushed.

"I'm sorry I forgot my bag I hope I'm not interrupting…"

Airi stopped midsentence when she saw the two boys lying on the ground together, their faces bright red.

**Oh how I love awkward cliffhangers. So suspenseful, right? **

**I'm kind of lazy today, so I don't have a lot to write here in my little commentary... Just review, review, review! It means the world to me! Love you all!**


	8. Divided

**Guys! I'm alive! It's a miracle! Haha, actually my laptop had a horrible virus that took FOREVER to get rid of and I couldn't write for quite a while (a few weeks I think). Then, once I finally fixed it, I got a massive case of writer's block :/ I felt terrible that I couldn't think of anything to give you. I had a lot of ideas but I finally settled on this one. It's kind of random, but I thought Mori needed to be in it more. So, without further ado, Chapter Eight!**

Chapter 8

"You two put yourselves in the most awkward of situations," Kyouya sighed as he stepped back in the music room, shaking his head.

Haurhi and Tamaki frantically tried to untangle them as Airi watched in horror. Weren't these boys supposed to entertain girls? What was this? This didn't make any sense!

Kyouya turned the music off as he walked over to the others, keeping his calm exposure easily.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Tamaki screeched, "It was an accident!"

"You might as well let the cat out of the bag, Tamaki," Kyouya said, "To be honest I'm getting a little tired of lying about this. Can we be honest for once?"

Tamaki looked at him, then to Airi and then back at him. He had a feeling that perhaps he was trying to get closer to Airi, possibly through honesty. His friend was falling for someone! He would've jumped and tackled him if he hadn't been tangled up with Haruhi.

Kyouya walked to the door and closed it, stepping closer to Airi.

"Haurhi here is seeing Tamaki," Kyouya explained, "She was actually mistaken for a boy early in the year, but the club knows the truth."

"And now so does she," Haruhi grumbled.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki cried as he leapt to his feet, "Why would you tell her so easily? This is supposed to be a secret! What if it gets revealed? This could jeopardize everything! Now she's going to leave!"

Airi just stared in shock. Haruhi was a girl? She looked over at Haruhi, noticing that she did have a very feminine appearance. How could she not have seen this before? Was she as stupid as the other girls at this school?

"You were the one who wanted Haruhi to have a female friend," Kyouya said slyly.

"Stop twisting my words around!" Tamaki screeched.

"That's not really twisting them," Haruhi grumbled.

"Well, um, this is sort of awkward for me..." Airi said softly.

Kyouya looked to her and nodded his head slightly.

"Would you like to discuss some of the talent show ideas as I explain this to you?" he offered.

Airi gave him a suspicious glance, but let him link his arm with hers. She looked behind at Tamaki and Haruhi as she walked off, furrowing her brows. How could she have been so blind?

* * *

><p>Mori waited patiently outside the school for Mitsukuni, who was speaking to his partner for the talent show about their act. He didn't want to be an awkward third wheel, so he'd opted to wait outside. There were just a bunch of students, mingling after hours for no particular reason. Nothing unusual.<p>

"Thanks Kyouya," a familiar voice said, "I guess we'll start practicing this weekend... oh, do you have the time?"

"It's three forty-five," Kyouya's smooth voice said.

"Shit! I'm late! I'll talk to you later!"

Mori turned his head just in time to see a blur of yellow plow into him, books falling all over the ground and papers flying. The yellow mass grunted as it fell to the ground as well, with not very much grace for a dancer. The surprised young man quickly reached out and offered his hand to the girl who'd fallen. His eyes widened only slightly when he realized that it was Airi.

"Ow, did I run into a wall?" she groaned.

Kyouya, who'd witnessed the scene, gave a light chuckle. Mori-sempai did posses wall-like qualities.

Yet as he watched his older classmate help up the girl, a strange feeling bubbled up inside him. Why was he looking at her like that? And was that a _smile? _Since when did Mori smile at girls like that? What was going on here?

A suddenly possesive Kyouya stepped over to the two, quickly taking her by the hand. He pulled her back gently enough so as not to be frightened, but enough for Mori to narrow his eyes angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Airi gasped as she tried to collect herself, "I didn't see you there and I was in a hurry... I'm really sorry."

"It's alright," Mori replied in his usual monotone voice, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine, but thank you for asking.

Airi smiled sweetly at the tall man before her. She'd seen him in the Host Club now and again, but he didn't usually talk much. Or at all for that matter, so she didn't really know much about the guy.

Kyouya noticed the way she was looking at him and less than subtly cleared his throat.

"Aren't you late for something?" he asked.

"Oh crap!"

In a sudden whirlwind, Airi grabbed her fallen books and papers and dashed off to the front of the school.

"Bye, Kyouya!" she called, "Bye, Mori!"

Once she was out of sight, Kyouya and Mori shared a tense glare with each other. Both of them had more hostility than what could pass off as a bluff.

"Airi Matsumoto is _my _partner for the time being," Kyouya said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't distract her, sempai."

Mori just shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to walk away.

"Make me," he breathed just loud enough for Kyouya to hear.

With that, the two went their separate ways, a brick wall placed between them permanently.

**How was it? Was it worth the wait? I really hope so! I'd had that first part forever but didn't know how to finish off the chapter. I know it's short, but a lot happened, am I right? Love triangle? Friends turned enemies? I like to keep it fresh and suspenseful, so there should be more where that came from!**

**And now if you liked this...**

**Review... Review... review review review review review review review REVIEW! I don't know why I just did that to the tune of the _Jaws _theme (especially since I haven't even seen that movie) but whatever, don't judge me :P If you liked it, please do what is stated above! Your feedback practically forces me to keep this stuff going! Love you all!**


	9. Blossom

**Yay updates! Ugh, I feel like it's taking me so long to update now and I apologize. But... it's summer vacation! Hopefully now I'll be updating a lot more now! So excited! I have lots of ideas I just don't know if you guys want this story to go fast or slow, so please tell me which you prefer. And now, chapter nine!**

Chapter 9

"One two three, _one _two three," Airi sighed as she moved across the floor with Kyouya, "Keep your back straight, hold your frame, look at me."

The young man tried to keep calm, but the frustration was boiling inside him. He was doing everything she said, why was she still bossing him around?

Airi stopped suddenly, pushing her hair out of her face and walking over to the stereo to turn it off.

"You aren't trying," she said, "I can't deal with someone who won't try."

Kyouya could feel his fists clench. They'd been working on this for hours now. How long would it take for her to accept him the way he was?

"I'm doing everything you're telling me," he said as he pushed his glasses up.

"That doesn't matter. If you just go through the motions you're just a puppet. When you actually try then you'll be a dancer."

She was getting sick and tired of his apathetic attitude. Why bother show up anymore? It wasn't like he wanted to be here.

"I never said I wanted to be one!" he snapped, his temper starting to flare.

He expected her to be taken aback or frightened, but she merely snapped right back.

"I didn't choose to be in this position! I didn't even want to go to this damn rich school!"

"You think I enjoy being in my current position? Always being looked down upon by my family?"

"At least you have a family!"

Both instantly became deathly still. What just happened?

Kyouya stared at her. The only person he'd ever exploded like that in front of was Tamaki. That was the reason they were so close now. Because he'd revealed his true self to him.

Airi was equally as stunned. She never brought up her family, not after what happened. And she never lost her temper like that? Why now with this guy who was normally so eased and collected? She leaned against the wall of the dance room and slid down until she was seated. Then she put her face in her hands and cried.

The sound of her sobs caused Kyouya's heart to throb. She sounded so pitiful. But there was nothing to be gained by helping her.

"Please," she gasped through her tears, "Just go."

The decision he made confounded both of them.

There was a pause in Airi's weeping as someone sat beside her, their arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her close. She looked up and saw Kyouya, who was staring down absently at his lap, avoiding her stare.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to lose my temper."

The girl sniffled a little bit before responding.

"I don't think you lost your temper," she said softly, "I think that was the real you."

Kyouya froze for a moment. First Tamaki and now her? What was happening?

"You try to seem so calm and collected," she continued, "But, inside, there's so much built up. Why don't you let it go?"

"The pressure placed on me can never be lifted," he said gravely, "I'm constantly overshadowed by my father and brothers. My sole purpose is to impress them."

Airi looked at him curiously. This poor guy didn't think he had a purpose other than to impress his family. How sad.

"I think there's other things you could do," she said, "I mean, the Host Club… you seem to like it there and I don't know how that's supposed to impress your family."

"It doesn't."

"Then why do you do it?"

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"Because I'm best friends with an idiot."

Airi smiled slightly at this. She'd been able to tell that he and Tamaki were close, which was probably the only reason Kyouya was in the club in the first place.

"I didn't mean to make you upset," he said softly, "My deepest apologies."

There was a long, awkward pause before anyone said anything.

"My parents died in a car crash," she murmured, "They were taking me to a recital and we were running late… so my dad was in a huge rush and… there was a red light…"

She started to choke up then, making Kyouya involuntarily squeeze her arm for reassurance. He dared to turn and look at her, only to be met with teary, blue eyes.

"You don't know what it's like," she sobbed, "To be the reason for your parents' death…"

"You're right. I don't. But that doesn't mean I don't understand how you feel."

She sighed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Kyouya reached over and pushed some stray out of her face, causing her to catch her breath a little. He quickly pulled away, slightly irritated at himself for alarming her.

"You're... really a nice guy, Kyouya," Airi said softly.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"People may not see it, but I do. There's something special about you; something that no one else has."

Kyouya's eyes widened slightly. What was with this girl? He'd never met anyone like her.

"It's kind of you to think that, Miss Matsumoto," he said, "To be honest, I think there's something special about you as well."

The girl's face flushed slightly as she looked down into her lap.

"You're just saying that," she mumbled.

"Not really. You're a unique girl, Airi."

She looked up at him, staring into his violet-gray eyes that seemed to be pools of depth and understanding. Were they gray? Or something else? She leaned closer, curious to see. Then suddenly, her lips were on his, neither of them pulling away. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment and then closed as the kiss deepened. Kyouya put his hand against her face, gently bringing her closer.

And, with a satisfied look on its face, Fate left, knowing it had done its job.

**To be honest, I just got impatient. I was going to wait like five more chapters for this to happen but I was like, "Screw it there must be more romance!" So now you get to enjoy that XD Also, the beginning of this chapter was inspired by episode twenty-four, when Kyouya met Tamaki. I wanted to make Kyouya act himself, and that's basically how he is. But I love him anyways.**

**So... review! Yeah, I know, I always ask but it means a lot. Like I said above, tell me if you want this to go fast or slow so I can think of stuff to put in. Also, could you tell me _why _you like the story or chapter? I love reading "Great chapter" but I'd really like to know why you think it's great so I can expand on that. Thanks!**


	10. Wither

**Hi! Holy crap this chapter is long (for me) and I'm so happy! It turned out really well, I think. I know a lot of you said it was going really fast last chapter (I totally agree, I just wanted you guys to see what my idea of fast was) so now I'm going to be slowing it down a little. I really hope you like it!**

Chapter 10

Tamaki leaned against the wall of Music Room 3, waiting for the others to arrive. He'd missed Mori and Hunny, even the twins (though he wouldn't admit it). Strangely enough, he hadn't heard a word from Kyouya all weekend, which kind of startled him. The two of them always kept in contact practically every day, mainly because they were the best of friends. What could've thrown that routine off?

"Hey, Boss," two annoyingly familiar voices said in unison.

Tamaki looked over to see the twins entering the room, Mori and Hunny right behind them.

"Hi, Tama-chan!" Hunny cried joyfully.

Mori just nodded his head in greeting.

"Hello, everyone," Tamaki replied, "Um… where are Kyouya and Haruhi?"

"Why should we know?" Hikaru muttered.

Tamaki narrowed his eyes at them, but his eyes quickly widened as he saw Haruhi come inside, as cute as ever.

"_Haruhi!" _he sang as he skipped over to her.

She groaned as he picked her up and spun her around too fast for her liking, but didn't object to it. It was his unusual and over the top way of showing his affection. Even it was obnoxious, she enjoyed being fretted over by him like that.

"Come on, Boss, put her down," Kaoru sighed, "She doesn't seem to like it."

Tamaki rolled his eyes, but gently set Haruhi down on her feet, holding her shoulders to keep her from getting dizzy.

"It's fine," she said, "I'm used to it."

Hikaru folded his arms across his chest and dramatically turned his head to look out the window. What did she see in that idiot anyway?

Haruhi looked around the room and noticed that a certain shady figure was missing.

"Where's Kyouya?"

"No one seems to know," the twins answered.

"Yeah!" Hunny chimed in, "It's so weird!"

"You all worry far too much," someone sighed.

"Kyouya!" everyone cried as they turned to see him enter.

He looked the same as he always did, a blank expression, yet managing to seem like he had the world on a string at the same time.

"Kyouya, you're here!" Tamaki sang, "I was so worried! Why didn't you answer my calls? I thought something terrible happened! Never scare me like that again!"

The young man just took out his clipboard and began writing away, paying no mind to his best friend's antics, the twins starting to mock their leader.

Haruhi snuck over to stand beside Kyouya as the others just involved themselves in Tamaki's rant somehow.

"Sempai?" she asked.

"Yes, Haruhi?" Kyouya replied as he wrote at the same pace.

"Were you ok this weekend? Tamaki really was worried about you."

He stopped writing and turned to give her his signature "of course" smile.

"I was just a little busy with my studies, that's all. But I appreciate your concern. It's nice to know some people care."

"Of course we do, sempai. We're your friends."

Kyouya looked at her a moment longer and then went back to writing in an attempt to drown out the others with little luck. Haruhi would've tried to break it up, but she already knew that it was a lost cause. But it didn't matter because someone else stepped in to put a stop to it.

"Kyouya?"

Everyone turned to see Airi standing at the door, poking her head inside. Haruhi had to a double take to make sure it was the same girl. This Airi looked… sweet. Her face was flushed, her eyes sparkly… everything about her was just happy. A big difference compared to the stubborn girl who'd yelled and accused Kyouya a few weeks ago.

As everyone kept observing her, Kyouya went back to writing, looking at the clipboard intently.

"Yes, Miss Matsumoto?" he asked coolly.

The girl seemed taken aback by his apathy and cautiously stepped in, holding her hands behind her back.

"I came to see you," she said in an unusually quiet voice, "And I… I thought you might want to see me."

"Not in particular."

All jaws dropped at Kyouya's cruelness to the seemingly innocent girl. Airi winced at his words, but kept going closer to him.

"I was just thinking…" she continued, "That after the other day… maybe… we, um…"

Kyouya finally stopped writing yet refused to look at her.

"I apologize for my actions that day," he said, "I was in a bit of a passionate mood. I'm sorry if that led you to believe I had feelings for you."

The air was deathly still. No one dared to move a muscle.

Tamaki was appalled by his friend's heartlessness. Haruhi knew that Kyouya could be mean, but this was a low even for him. Hunny was distressed that the girl looked like she was about to cry and wanted to give her a hug. The twins had no idea what was going on. And Mori let a small smirk form on his lips.

Airi was too shattered to really feel anything. This boy, this boy she'd given her first kiss to… he didn't want her? She knew he hid his feeling, but she thought he'd been able to get through to him. Was she just like all the rest of them?

"My apologies…" she finally whispered, "Mister Ootori."

She then darted away, tears in her eyes, failing to see the way Kyouya's expression shifted, looking like he'd just been punched. The others stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Except for Haruhi.

"Airi!" she cried, "Wait!"

She ran off after the girl, hoping she'd be able to comfort her somehow.

It was quiet for a long time before anyone said anything.

"Kyouya…" Tamaki said in his soft, hurt voice.

"Not a word, Tamaki," Kyouya said through gritted teeth, "Not a word."

"You… you made her cry."

"I said not a word!"

Kyouya's voice had risen, signaling to everyone that his temper was starting to flare. None of them wanted to be around to deal with that. Instead, they all went outside the room to entertain their guests while the music room was… occupied.

"But you made her cry, Kyouya!" Tamaki cried.

"That's her own damn fault!"

"We're supposed to make girls happy! As members of the elite Ouran High School Host Club, it is our duty to-"

"Make every girl happy," Kyouya breathed, "I know… But she's not a normal girl, Tamaki. She… she sees me… like you."

Tamaki stared at his friend quietly, not wanting to risk setting him off again.

Kyouya dropped his clipboard, but gripped his pen tightly in his fist.

"I… I don't know how to handle her," he whispered, "I'm… I'm afraid…"

Tamaki caught his breath slightly. Kyouya afraid? That had to be a first. But he could sympathize. He knew how he felt. He went over and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Kyouya glanced up at him, looking like a lost puppy.

"I'll help you," Tamaki said.

* * *

><p>"Airi! Airi, wait up!"<p>

Haruhi ran mindlessly around the school, not quite sure where the girl had gone. All she knew was that she wanted to help her. The look of complete rejection and hurt on her face caused Haruhi's loving side to kick in. Now she was paying for it, seeing as how she was running all over, looking like a lunatic, trying to find a girl she hardly knew.

Curse these damn rich people.

A heavy hand suddenly came down on her shoulder, forcing her to a halt. Whoever it was, they were pretty strong to be able to stop someone just by touching them. Then again, Haruhi wasn't the strongest person in the world.

She turned around and looked up into the face of Mori, who looked as serious as always. Mori? Now what was he doing stopping her? How'd he even find her? After all she'd been everywhere in the whole school. How lucky of him to find her just then.

"Mori-sempai?" she asked.

"Stop," he said, "Leave the girl alone. She'll be ok."

Haruhi stepped back in surprise. This was so unlike him. One, to say words that weren't monosyllabic. Two, to be so assertive in such a situation. And three, to express concern for someone besides Hunny.

"I don't know, sempai," Haruhi said, "She looked pretty upset. I want to talk to her... girl to girl."

Mori's eyes narrowed slightly, but not enough for Haruhi to really notice.

"Leave her be," he said, "She'll be fine."

Haruhi looked at her older friend curiously. He looked the same: black hair, freakishly tall build, same uniform. Yet, something seemed to hide behind his eyes. Something dark that hadn't ever been there before. And to be quite honest, it worried Haruhi a little.

"Ok," she said, "Just because you seem to know what to do."

More like just because she didn't want to get beat up or interrogated. She turned around and started to walk back to the m usic room, her hands in her pockets.

Mori stayed where he was, standing tall. He turned his head to look out the enormous stain glass windows that covered the school. Outside, he could see a young girl sitting by the fountain that Haruhi's bag had been thrown into when she first joined the Host Club. She was looking down, her curly hair covering her face. Still, he knew who it was.

He couldn't help but smile.

* * *

><p><em>"What do you mean you don't want me help?" <em>Tamaki screeched.

Haruhi entered the music room to see Tamaki freaking out, breathing fire, as he typically did when angry. Kyouya was calmly picking his clipboard off the floor, shaking his head at his friend.

"No offense," he said, "But you're not my first choice when it comes to romantic advice."

_"What are you trying to say? That I'm not romantic? I'm French! FRENCH! As in Paris! The city of love! I know what I'm doing! I'm not stupid, Kyouya! Let me help you! ARGH!"_

Haruhi just rolled her eyes. Of course he'd be blowing up about something so silly. That was just how Tamaki was. In a moment he'd probably calm and arrogant as he usually was. How he'd managed to convince her to be his girlfriend was beyond her capacity.

As he stood up, Kyouya turned and saw Haruhi, giving her a look that said "it's _your _boyfriend" making her sigh.

"Everything ok in here?" she asked.

"Besides Tamaki threatening to destroy the school, everything's perfect."

_"I'm not threatening to desetroy the school! But if you don't let me help you I will! I can do that! Just keep ignoring me and I'll destroy it all! I have the power! Look I'm breathing fire! I'm a dragon! The Dragon King!"_

"Well that's a relief," Haruhi sighed, "But what about you? You were awfully cold to Airi..."

Kyouya sighed and bowed his head.

"I know," he admitted, "And I'm not proud of it. But... I just don't know how to make it up to her."

_"I'll help! I can help you make it up to her! Kyouya! Let me help!"_

Haruhi smiled at him and took him by the wrist.

"Come on, sempai," she said, "I have an idea."

_"What? You're letting her help but no me? But I'm French! I speak the language of love! She's a commoner! Kyouya! Don't run away! I know what I'm doing! The Dragon King always wins! Kyouya!"_

**This was a really fun chapter to write. Mostly Tamaki's exploding at the end. If you've seen the outtakes for _Ouran,_ you'll know what the whole Dragon King thing is about. I thought it'd be fun to put it in and add some comic relief since this is a funny anime and there needs to be more humor!**

**So, Kyouya was an ass, Airi was heartbroken, Haruhi was compassionate and Mori was sneaky. Weird. Looks like things are going to be a little crazy for the club!**

**That means review! I have been sitting forever thinking of this chapter and it finally came to me in ten minutes after reading your reviews. See? They do help! So keep it up if you like it, guys! Thanks!**


	11. Or Not

**HEY! BACK! I hope. Sorry it's taken so long for the update! I've been in a really fluffy mood and I wanted to write sommething romantic, but I can't because the only real couple is Tamaki and Haruhi and she is the least romantic person ever! Gah! So here's a short chapter before I suffocate you with fluff. But even though it's short it's quite important! xD**

Chapter 11

Mai walked towards the music room curiously, wondering why there was a mob of girls outside the doors instead of inside. That was unusual.

"What do you mean we can't go in?"

"What's going on?"

"Why is the Host Club closed?"

"That doesn't make sense."

Girls' complaints and questions floated through Mai's ears, not really soaking in. She wasn't one of the many girls who fawned over the boys in the club. Sure she'd been chosen to participate in their silly talent show, but she wasn't jumping up and down with excitement about it.

"We'll be open shortly," Hikaru said as he tried to push back the mob of girls.

"The king is going over some stuff with the vice-president. They are discussing some issues within the club," Kaoru finished.

Mai pushed her way through the girls, trying to get to her partner for the talent show. They still hadn't decided what to do and the talent show was approaching.

"Hikaru? Hey, we need to talk about the talent show!"

The girl stumbled forward, partially from tripping and partially from being shoved by the other girls. What was wrong with the girls here?

She was met face to face with the two twins, both of them looking at her with the same mischievous smile. They both felt like playing the same game.

"Which one of us is Hikaru?" they asked in unison.

* * *

><p>Airi sat sniffling, not wanting to ever go back in that school again. She should've known better. She should've known that all men were the same. What made her think that this one would be different?<p>

"You okay?"

The girl looked up at the sound of the vaguely familiar voice, surprised to see Mori of all people standing in front of her. He looked even more tall and intimidating since she was sitting at the fountain.

"Mori-sempai," she said in a small voice as she wiped her eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"You're crying," he answered, "I wanted to make sure you're alright."

"Oh."

She rubbed her nose on the sleeve of her yellow dress, not really caring if it got dirty. The thing was hideous enough already.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, "Just some… miscommunication between Kyouya and I."

Mori nodded understandingly, placing a large hand on her shoulder. He knew he couldn't say anything that would make him sound suspicious, but then again, saying anything would do the trick. So, to be safe, he just grunted in what Airi assumed was a positive response.

"He's usually so forward," Mori said as he sat beside her, "I don't think it's possible to misunderstand him."

Airi looked at him surprised. Why was he talking to her so much? He'd seemed nice, but she knew that he talked to basically no one. But now he was sitting here with her, still tall and scary, but suddenly seeming to reveal a much sweeter, gentler side of himself.

"This was kind of an obvious blunder," she muttered, "But it's ok I guess. We'll fix things, I hope. Kyouya's not a bad guy."

Mori winced as she gave him a hopeful smile. This wasn't going the way he hoped.

"Well you're probably the first to say that," Mori mumbled, "Except for maybe Haruhi… but she likes everyone."

The girl looked at him confused. Was he trying to make Kyouya sound bad? But she thought they were friends. After all, they were two most alike, being the only ones who were always calm and at ease. Or at least that's what it seemed like. Perhaps they weren't really that alike after all.

"Well it doesn't matter if he's a good guy or not," Airi sighed, "He's my partner in the talent show and it's not like that can change. And, whether I want to admit it or not, he's an exquisite dancer."

Mori caught the slight gleam in her eye as she thought of him. Maybe he should give up. She really seemed to care about Kyouya, even if he wasn't the nicest guy around. And it wasn't like Kyouya had ever done anything to him. Fine. He'd let Kyouya have his chance. But if he did anything to hurt Airi…

"Airi!" a familiar voice called.

The two looked and saw Haruhi, who was standing beside a row of bushes. She was happy to see Airi, but wondered what on earth Mori was doing there. He wasn't exactly the social type after all.

She decided to figure that out later and instead turned to Kyouya, who was sitting (hiding) behind the row of bushes. He was hunched over, his chin on his knees, looking unusually vulnerable. Haruhi had to admit that he looked kind of funny, seeming more like a child than a seventeen year old, pouting behind a bush.

"Sempai, come on," she muttered, "Just go over and talk to her."

"I don't know what to say," he snapped, "You said to speak from the heart. I don't know really have any experience in that."

Airi watched as Haruhi conversed with the bush, wondering if she was okay. She took out her phone and caught her breath when she realized what time it was. Damn! Why was this happening to her all the time as of lately?

"Crap, I'm going to be late again," she groaned.

She looked back at Haruhi quickly. The girl had called her name, yet she was still too busy talking to the bush to look back. Maybe they'd talk about it later. Plus there was no way she could be late… again.

"Bye, Mori," she said as she got up, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Mori just nodded his head, returning to his usual, silent self. Airi gave him a quick smile before turning and running off to go find her ride.

After what felt like hours, Haruhi finally managed to pry Kyouya away from the bush, pushing him out into the open air. The man stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his balance, instantly pushing his glasses up.

Honestly, as if this wasn't embarrassing enough.

Kyouya glanced over to the fountain and noticed Mori walking away from it. Without Hunny-sempai? That was odd. But then he realized that there was no one at the fountain. So where was Airi? He extended his gaze and caught her running the other way.

_Running_.

Hell, no, she wasn't getting away that easy! In a flash, Kyouya was after her, leaving behind a very confused and dazed Haruhi.

Airi ran quickly, knowing that if she'd be late she could possibly lose the one thing that truly mattered to her. There were no cars coming in the street ahead so it looked pretty safe to cross. Yet just as her foot was about to step on the pavement, something grabbed her wrist and yanked her back, causing her to gasp and drop her textbooks on the road. She caught only a glimpse of the car that was going to hit her: black, dark windows, expensive. But she was whirled around and pulled to the safety of someone's arms.

The car's horn made her jump and she found herself being pulled closer to her savior. She looked up and her eyes widened.

Of course.

**I can't keep couples broken apart for very long. It kills me. You should probably remember that for future reference.**

**Also, I made Mori nicer because my friend started reading this before ever actually _watching _Ouran and this caused her to dislike Mori. *tsk tsk* So when she watched it, she liked Mori because he's the most normal besides Kyouya. I think the show frightened her a little to be honest, she's not an anime person :P**

**Speaking of the show, you guys know CloudEnvyKunoichi, right? She stalks my profile and comments every chapter (which makes me love her more) Well she and I made a dub of the first episode of Ouran... Oh yeah. It might be on YouTube soon (we still have like four minutes left) so when it's up, I'll give you the link. That way you can hear my gorgeous voice. Just kidding! But yeah, I play Kyouya, Haruhi, Kaoru and Hunny and Cloud plays Tamaki, Hikaru, Mori and that mean girl in the first episode... Plus we both play all the squealing girls. **

**On a kind of random note... ARE ANY OF YOU ARTISTS? I know that's totally random, but I've seen some awesome fan art in my days and I was curious if any of you would draw something for this story, like Airi and Kyouya and Mori or something like that. If you can draw, please let me see because I'd love to see if you guys would draw something based off my work! That way I could admire the talent of all my lovely readers -heart-**

**So... now that I'm back... you going to review for me? Please? It was weird because I thought I had 57 reviews for this story and now it says 56 so my ego has been crushed, even though I don't know if you can remove a review. It's probably just my mind playing tricks on me. Anyway! REVIEW! I love you guys!**


	12. Perhaps

**Hello, hello, hello! Geez, it feels like it's ttaking me forever to update :P My bad. Just been busy with dance and stuff but it's over tomorrow so more updates! Yay!**

**This is kind of a short chapter... I just suck at long ones so deal with it. Hope you like it!**

Chapter 12

"What the hell were you doing?" Kyouya yelled angrily in Airi's face, "You could've been killed!"

The girl just stood there shaking. He was right. She could've died just now. Her knees started to shake a little, her face going pale.

"I… I was… just going… to dance…" she breathed.

Kyouya was unfazed by her terrified state. How could she be so stupid? The car was speeding right at her! Only someone blind could've missed that. Or a complete idiot.

"Does your life not come first?" he cried, shaking her shoulders, "What does dance matter if you're dead?"

She caught her breath a little at that. Again, he was right. Dance was pointless is she didn't have a life. The realization finally overwhelmed her.

Her legs gave out and she would've fallen if Kyouya hadn't held her up. Sobs started to form in her throat as he gently lifted her to her feet, looking at her with a mix of genuine concern and confusion. He wasn't used to all this emotional stuff happening to him. Still, the girl had almost just gotten killed and was clearly going into shock.

"K-K-Kyouya…" she whimpered, "Th-th-thank y-y-you…"

The tears came faster and the breathing became louder and more forced than anything. She couldn't control herself anymore.

And somewhere, deep down inside Kyouya's dark heart, something happened that he'd never understand. But whatever it was, it caused him to suddenly become very concerned for Airi in a way he'd never cared for someone before.

Without thinking, he scooped her up in his arm, a bit surprised by how light she was. The girl caught her breath and looked up into his eyes confused.

"It's alright," he said quietly, "I'm going to give you a ride."

Airi was too frightened and shocked to protest, so she just nodded weakly and rested her head against his shoulder, her body trembling slightly. Kyouya held her close as he walked across the street, noticing his driver standing beside the usual black car. He gave Kyouya a funny look, wondering why on earth he was carrying a girl. But he knew better than to question him.

Kyouya nodded to the driver as he opened the back door for him, sliding inside and holding Airi closer. She shook nervously but felt strangely at ease in his arms, having the feel of complete safety wrapped around her.

The driver started the car and began to head towards home, peeking in the rearview mirror every now and again to see what was going on.

"I'm taking you to my estate," Kyouya said as he looked at the girl, "You need your rest after that incident. I'll contact your home and have them send a car for you."

"B-but I n-n-need t-to go t-t-to d-dance…"

"You'll live if you miss it. I promise."

"No, you don't understand…"

"Whether I understand or not isn't important. You need to rest. Arguing with me is pointless, so I suggest you start your rest right now."

"But –"

"Go to sleep, Airi."

She would've argued further, but the evil look in his eye made her think otherwise. So, she reluctantly closed her eyes, her head lying comfortably on Kyouya's shoulder. And after that, she didn't know.

* * *

><p>"You're Kaoru and you're Hikaru," Mai said slightly irritated, "Now come on, can we please focus on the show?"<p>

"You got it wrong!" the twins sang together, smirking devilishly.

Mai shook her head and grabbed Hikaru by the ear.

"I know I'm right, now come on."

The twin whined and protested as he was dragged away, while the other stood there watching in shock. How had she known? Only Haruhi had been able to pull that off. And now her? He could feel their world begin to enlarge as he watched the young musician tear his brother away from the crowd.

This would be good for them. Having another person who understood them. Like Haruhi. And maybe it'd be good for Hikaru. He wasn't too thrilled that Tamaki was dating Haruhi, so perhaps she could take his mind off that. Yes, he decided, it would be a good thing.

* * *

><p>"<em>Stop! Listen to your king! I said stop! Kyouya!"<em>

Tamaki was panting by the time he found Haruhi, who was looking at him with more irritation than he'd hoped.

"He left," she sighed, "Honestly, you need to calm down."

The blonde put his hands on his knees as he gasped for air, looking at Haruhi questioningly with his big violet eyes. Once he caught his breath, he straightened up and flipped his hair back out of his face.

"I'm worried about him, Haruhi," he said, "He's never cared for a girl… I don't know if he knows how."

Haruhi looked at him curiously. He kind of had a point. Kyouya never really showed much emotion, except perhaps around Tamaki since they were such good friends. Sure he had all of the hosts, but other than that… did he really care about anyone else?

"Well I don't think he wants relationship advice from you," Haruhi said indifferently.

"_What are you talking about?" _he screeched, _"I give excellent advice! I'm fantastic with relationships! I know everything and anything about them! I'm French! I speak love! Why do you doubt me?"_

"Because the only relationship you've ever had is the one you're currently in with me…"

Tamaki beamed and gave her his signature puppy dog eyes, melting her heart instantly. Damn, why did he have to be so good at that?

Haruhi suddenly found herself in a tight embrace, being swung around in circles as her boyfriend praised her.

"_You're so cute! That was just adorable! You can't resist me, can you? You've completely fallen for me! I told you that you would! I told you! And now you have! Haha! I knew it! I knew it! See? My relationships are fabulous! So my advice is just as wonderful! Oh, Haruhi!"_

"Tamaki! Choking, not breathing!"

* * *

><p>Airi woke up as someone gently pushed her shoulder, saying her name in a surprisingly soft voice. She let out a soft moan of slight irritation as her eyes fluttered open,, her breath catching when she realized that Kyouya was the one speaking to her.<p>

"Good afternoon," he said, "I trust you slept well."

The girl nodded slightly and looked around. She was lying on a surprisingly soft white couch, a silky blue blanket draped over her. It was a big room, so it was safe to assume that it was the family's living room.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Only two hours," Kyouya answered, "But your family's car should be here any minute."

Airi nodded again, looking down to avoid his gaze. After all, she didn't want him to hurt her with his cold words again. He noticed this and realized that he had to apologize quickly if he ever wanted to earn her forgiveness.

But how was he supposed to do that? Haruhi had told him to speak from the heart… How the hell could the shadow king pull that off? Well, there was a first time for everything.

He leaned down towards her just as she turned to confront him, their lips quickly locking. Both their eyes widened, looking at each other in shock. Airi was about to pull away when he placed his hand on the side of her face, his eyes closing.

For a moment she stared. Now he was kissing her? After all that? But he'd said he didn't have feelings for her. Was he just trying to hide his feelings? That seemed kind of like him. Kyouya wasn't one to express how he felt. But this kiss seemed to be just what he wanted to tell her. So she accepted and let her eyes close as well.

**Yeah... I can't keep couples apart for long :P Also, I just noticed that like the past three chapters have been in the same day! WTF? That is so unlike me! Usually one chapter is a day and the next one is a month later! This story's never going to be done at this rate! The talent show was supposed to be done already! Gah! See how much I love you guys? I put all this filler stuff in just for you so it doesn't go too fast. You're welcome :P**

**Also, I just want to thank you for all the positive feedback from last chapter. It meant so much to see how many of you guys actually like this story! I love you guys and thanks for your support!**

**So, yeah. Review please. I don't feel like doing anything funny or clever here because I just got puppies and am half asleep... guh... See you soon!**


	13. Thoughts

**Hey. You guys are in big trouble. I'm being completely serious. Did none of you like the last chapter? I got like three reviews! What gives? I really liked that chapter, too. Was it too fluffy? Was it too short? Please tell me because I feel like you all think that chapter was crap!**

**Since there was such a small response to the last chapter, I decided to fill this one up with a ton of stuff. It's even extra long you greedy bastards. So here you go.**

Chapter 13

Haruhi looked over her grocery list again. She was pretty sure she'd gotten everything she needed, but something in the back of her mind was nagging at her, as if she'd left something.

"_Haruhi! Look! They have ramen!"_

The girl reluctantly turned to look at her boyfriend pulling ramen off the shelves as if it were gold, the other customers watching in shock. Of course. As if going to out in public with her father wasn't bad enough, now she had Tamaki to deal with. The likeness between the two was starting to become eerie.

"We only need a few," Haruhi said in an attempt to revert things to normal, "Put the rest back."

Tamaki pouted a little, but did as she said. But weren't commoners always buying things in bulk? There was a soft giggle and Tamaki turned to see Airi Matsumoto of all people, a basket of items slung over her arm.

"Excuse me, sempai," she said teasingly, "But could I possibly have one of the fifty-eight packets of ramen you have there?"

The boy blushed a bit as he handed her one packet, throwing the rest back on the shelf. Haruhi walked over to join them, looking a bit surprised.

"Hey, Airi," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"Just getting some groceries. Uncle was going to send the servant, but I wanted to take a trip down memory lane."

"Memory lane?" Tamaki asked.

"Oh I used to live around here before my uncle took me in. Whenever my parents needed something I'd always stop by here."

Haruhi looked at her surprised. That was odd. She hadn't seen her around before. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Maybe they just came at different times.

"You know," Haruhi said, "I've seen that you and Kyouya seem to have patched things up."

Airi's cheeks flushed and she quickly looked to the shelf, trying to avoid being noticed.

"Yeah. We have."

A frighteningly big grin lit up Tamaki's face, making Airi cringe back just a little, not exactly used to his antics. Haruhi rolled her eyes and grabbed Tamaki by the hand.

"Ignore him. He takes some time to get used to."

"Oh, I noticed," Airi said through a giggle, "The whole Host Club kind of takes some getting used to… You're all pretty different guys… and a girl."

Just then the sound of a cell phone ringing stopped their conversation. Airi reached in her pocket and pulled out the phone. Tamaki watched mystified. How did she have a cell phone? She was a commoner after all. Sure Haruhi had one, but that was only because of those idiot twins.

"Hello?" the girl said into her phone, "Oh, hey."

Her voice suddenly sounded nervous and she began fiddling with her hair. The other two watched her curiously.

"Just getting groceries," she said into the phone, "You'll never guess who I ran into… It seems like I just can't get away from you hosts."

The light bulbs instantly went off in Tamaki and Haruhi's minds. Kyouya. But why was he calling her? That wasn't very typical of him. After all, the only time he talked on the phone was to Tamaki after his phone constantly rang.

"Ok, well I need to finish shopping. I'll see you later to practice. Bye."

She hung up and put the phone back in her pocket, looking up to see Tamaki gaping at her, hearts in his eyes. But before he had time to squeal and rant, Haruhi had started pulling him away.

"Well, we'll see you at school, Airi," she said, "I should get him home. He can't exactly handle being here too long without going ballistic."

"Ok, it was nice seeing you."

"_But Haruhi! I wanted to talk to her! Didn't you see the way she looked on the phone? She's in love! The two of them are obviously having secret romantic meetings at midnight and aren't telling us! They're going to elope if we don't do something!"_

"I have no idea where you come up with such crazy ideas, Tamaki."

* * *

><p>"He said we were going to elope?" Kyouya asked as he danced with Airi.<p>

"Yeah," she giggled, "And that we were having romantic meetings at midnight."

Kyouya shook his head as he twirled the girl around.

"Moron."

"Don't be mean. I thought he was your best friend."

"He is. I use moron as a term of endearment."

She rolled her eyes as he twirled her around, her curly hair flying around her face. It was so funny to think that those two were best friends. They weren't very similar, or so it seemed. But perhaps that was why they got along so well. Opposites did attract after all.

"He really seems to admire you, you know," she said, "The way he looks whenever he talks about you…"

"Well he did see me as a god when we first met."

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately."

Gosh, Tamaki just seemed to be more eccentric the more she heard about him. But he seemed sweet enough. He gave off a genuine friendly atmosphere and it was almost impossible to dislike him.

The two of them eventually stopped twirling around and decided to end practice early. The talent show was next week, but they knew they had probably the best act in the show and definitely the most polished.

As Kyouya sat down and opened his laptop to do something, Airi decided she'd explore his room a little. Everything seemed to have a place and was in it. It all seemed very orderly and straight. Until she noticed the painting hanging on the wall.

At first, she thought she was just seeing something. It seemed too artsy to belong in his room compared to everything else. The more she looked at it, the more impressed she was. It wasn't a masterpiece or anything. Just some purple flowers in a vase, though they were quite beautiful. Yet the frame around it was what really seemed to catch the eye. It looked like it was made of a dark wood, with gold embedded into it.

"Do you like it?"

Airi caught her breath as she noticed Kyouya standing beside her, inspecting the painting like she was.

"It's very beautiful," she murmured, "Who did this?"

"I painted the picture. My brothers created the frame. It's clear which outshines the other. A cruel reality."

The girl turned to him and reached for his hand. Kyouya took it warily, still not used to how to handle this kind of situation.

"Maybe it is a pretty frame," she said, "But you know, I think the inside is what's beautiful."

Kyouya couldn't help but give a weak smile as she looked at him. Something about those eyes of her had him under a spell. Yet, he really didn't want to break it.

* * *

><p>Hikaru stared at the unusual Chinese girl in confusion. He'd been with her for a while now and she still hadn't told him how she could tell him apart from Kaoru. Haruhi was the only one. She was the only one allowed in their world. How had she snuck in?<p>

"Hikaru, do you think you're ready?" Mai asked, "The talent show's soon."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm ready. And it's not like we're gonna get anything if we win."

Mai let out an annoyed breath. He was so irritating. Kaoru had always been nice to her; it was one of the ways she was able to tell them apart. But Hikaru… damn him.

"Well, I got to go," she said, "I'll see you later."

Hikaru contemplated on whether or not trying to keep her there, but eventually decided he didn't care enough. So Mai left the music room and headed to get to her ride. She'd already wasted enough time today.

Once at home, she was greeted by the servants and given her violin instantly. She took it and went to her room to practice for the next few hours. Her parents were out performing… somewhere. She rarely saw them, so she wasn't too worried. They'd be home at some point or another.

She was used to being alone. And she knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

* * *

><p>"Takashi?"<p>

Mori turned to the sound of his innocent cousin's voice, seeing him holding Usa-chan as usual, his chocolate brown eyes wide with worry. Hunny had noticed his best friend had been acting differently as of lately and wanted to know why.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "You seem so sad all the time."

Mori just grunted. He didn't want to talk about it, not even to Mitsukuni. It was too embarrassing.

"Is it about the talent show? Is your partner not working?"

"No. She's fine."

"Then why are you so upset?"

The tall man looked down at his feet, clenching his fists.

"Because I gave up."

* * *

><p>"<em>We have to stop them, Haruhi! Mama is too young to get married! This is too early! He's going to throw everything away for love! It's so romantic it brings me to tears! But it's so reckless! I've influenced him too much! Haruhi, I made a monster!"<em>

"Do you ever stop talking, Tamaki?" Haruhi groaned as she prepared tea for them.

She didn't exactly plan on having him come over after they went shopping, but he'd given her the puppy eyes that no human could resist. But the second he'd secured that, he'd gone back to ranting about Kyouya.

"This is Kyouya-sempai we're talking about," Haruhi said, "I can't really see him running off and getting married… or running off in general. He's kinda smart for that, don't you think?"

"_But now that his hormones are raging he's going to let his emotions take over! It's his human instinct and he won't know how to handle it! He doesn't know how to handle emotion! He barely ever experiences it!"_

The girl sighed and brought the tea over to him, pouring a cup for each of them.

"You should just call him once you've called down," she said, "I'm sure he'll agree with me and assure that you're insane."

The door suddenly burst open and a familiar tranny stepped inside, basically posing for all to see.

Tamaki squealed slightly and hid under the table, causing Haruhi to sigh in annoyance.

"Hi, Dad," she said, "How was work?"

Ranka's eyes filled with flames as he noticed the little pervert hiding under his table. He knew that Haruhi was dating him now (as much as he'd tried to persuade her not to) but it would've been nice to know that he'd be here. It would've given him time to get a barf bag.

"Fine, fine," Ranka said with a wave of his manicured hand, "But I didn't know _he _was going to be here."

"He just came by for some tea after we went grocery shopping."

"Yes!" Tamaki cried as he stood up from under the table, "Just some tea! Would you like some? Haruhi, where are the cups? I need to get your dad tea!"

Ranka stuck his foot out, causing Tamaki to trip and land flat on his face. He placed his food on the boy's head, pressing his face down into the floor.

"Well, he can go. I want to talk to my little girl father to daughter!"

Haruhi felt her eye twitch. Only in her life would stuff like this ever happen. Then again, she was starting to get used to it by now.

"For starters, the Host Club's talent show is next week," she said, "Are you gonna come?"

There were muffled sounds coming from Tamaki, but Haruhi couldn't really make out what he was trying to say due to her father's foot on his head.

"Of course I will!" Ranka cried, "I wouldn't miss it for the world! Is Tamaki going first?"

"I don't know the order yet, but knowing him, probably."

"Well in that case I'll be a little late, but I definitely won't miss you!"

Tamaki made more incomprehensible noises, but Ranka drowned him out by going on about something that happened at work.

Haruhi smiled as she looked at the two of them. Funny. The two were so alike, yet Ranka couldn't stand Tamaki. Maybe that would change one day. She could only hope.

**There. That was all for you guys! I mentioned every character possible (except Kaoru... sorry I didn't know where to put him) even Ranka! So I REALLY hope you guys enjoyed it. I put a lot of time into it and I hope my work paid off. **

**P.S. I don't hate you guys :P I just want to write good stories and if you don't review, I feel like you don't like it. Sorry if I seemed mean about it before. I love you!**

**So if you love me then you should review! Becuase I'm a review whore! For me! For the story! For the Host Club!**


	14. Problems

**Woot I'm back! First off... _I love you guys!_ All those reviews gave me the biggest head in the world and the biggest heart too! It made me so happy you don't even know! Though, I believe someone was upset that I seemed mean at the beginning. For future reference, I'll never actually be mean to you guys. That was just my attempt at humor, but it got lost through translation into text. Also, this is rated T for a reason (lemony stuff later, language) so I really hope nine year olds aren't reading this.**

**Anyway, this is my longest chapter yet *happy dance* so I _really _hope you like it!**

Chapter 14

Airi peeked from behind the stage's curtain, looking out at all those in attendance for the talent show. They were basically all girls, but there were a lot of family members that belonged to those participating. Even so, the number of people there was frighteningly large. She'd never performed in front of that many people. A hand suddenly wrapped around hers and she turned to see Kyouya looking at her comfortingly.

"Don't be nervous," he said quietly, "You're very talented. There's nothing to worry about."

She smiled weakly and squeezed his hand for reassurance. He squeezed back gently, pulling her back into the wings so no one in the audience would see her. After all, her costume wasn't supposed to be revealed until they performed. It was worth the wait though.

The dress looked quite extraordinary on her. Originally she'd wanted a red dress because that was her favorite color, but he'd managed to talk sense into her and convince her blue was much more sensible for an elegant ballroom dance. It wasn't huge or anything, but it did have an obvious shape to it. The color was dark, similar to that of her eyes. There were rhinestones all over the bust, and the lack of straps only drew the eye to that fact more.

Kyouya looked down at his simple black tux. Sure he wasn't as flashy as her, but he wasn't really supposed to be. More people usually paid attention to the female dancer anyway. In that case they'd win the show hands down.

He noticed her take a peek from the wing again, her curly brown hair falling into visibility for the audience. Fantastic. Just as he was about to grab her and pull her back, a rather irritating squeak came from her lips as she jumped back, almost knocking him over.

"Airi?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"Sorry!" she gasped as she turned to look at him, "But, but Sasaki Tsukiko is in the front row!"

Kyouya raised an eyebrow surprised. A Sasaki was here? But why? It wasn't like this was being aired on television. And since it was so small, a Sasaki probably wouldn't be caught dead here. So… what on earth was she doing?

He took a quick peek out from behind the curtain to make sure Airi wasn't crazy. Indeed, she wasn't. There, in the front row was the youngest Sasaki. She was wearing an expensive looking purple dress and clutched a matching silk purse in her hands, her light brown eyes watching the curtain critically, as if she was judging the fabric it was made of. Her blonde hair was piled in a neat bun on top of her head, not a hair out of place.

"Definitely a Sasaki," Kyouya sighed as he withdrew from the curtain, "But I have no idea why she's here."

"_A Sasaki?"_

Tamaki suddenly leapt into the picture in a flamboyant costume that looked like it was supposed to be centuries old… and accomplished that with ease. His partner, Ayame Jonouchi, seemed to be slightly aggravated as she was wearing a female version of Tamaki's attire. Or perhaps he just annoyed her in general.

"Someone from the greatest talent agency in Japan is here to witness _our show?"_ Tamaki sang.

"It appears so," Kyouya said, "But don't get your hopes up. It's the youngest daughter and she doesn't exactly have a say in her parents' business at the moment."

The blonde seemed unfazed as he swept his hair back in that overdramatic way he always did, conveniently at the same time Haruhi entered with her partner, Momoka Kuragano.

"That matters not. What matters is that a Sasaki is here! Therefore, we must put on the grandest show this academy has ever seen!"

Haruhi instantly looked unenthusiastic, though the girls seemed pretty into it. Kyouya just pushed his glasses up some more, uninterested in his crazy friend's ideas.

"Oh, you guys don't need to do that!"

All heads turned to see Mai entering with Hikaru, Kaoru and the younger twin's partner, Rin. Airi couldn't help but feel slightly self-conscious when she realized that she was the most extravagantly dressed person there, but was relieved that the girls were at least dressed somewhat formally.

"I invited her," Mai said, "Hope that's not a problem."

It certainly wasn't. Everybody started getting hyped up now that a talent agent's daughter was here, suddenly starting to take the show a bit more seriously. Funny how easy it was to plant motivation into people. Now all that was left for the show to end.

* * *

><p>Airi looked slightly annoyed as Tamaki danced around the stage with his winning trophy, thanking the audience and embarrassing his partner even more. She should've figured. It was basically a popularity contest, so of course Suoh would win.<p>

"At least it's over," Kyouya sighed beside her, "I don't think I could take any more of Tamaki's craziness about this."

They were the only two who'd stayed backstage; all the others had gone out into the audience to be congratulated and praised by their families. Kyouya's father hadn't come and Airi decided she'd stay with him and go find her uncle in a bit.

"You seem pretty unfazed about not winning," she commented.

"It was obvious Tamaki would win," Kyouya said with a shrug of his shoulders, "I knew we didn't have a real chance. But I'll admit that I enjoyed spending all that time with you… that's probably the one thing I'll miss about this whole thing."

She blushed slightly as he smirked, but quickly gained her composure. She'd gotten used to his ways and had become more comfortable being around him to the point she wasn't afraid to be herself.

"I think that was an attempt at being sweet," she teased, "But you know, just because this is over doesn't mean we have to stop spending time together."

His hand closed over hers as he brought her closer, a devious grin on his lips.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Just as he prepared to kiss her, he heard someone clear their throat behind him, instantly sending back to his cold, guarded self. Airi looked at him a little disappointed as he turned away, but understood when she saw that Tsukiko Sasaki herself was standing there, watching the two of them curiously.

"Greetings, Miss Sasaki," Kyouya said, "We weren't exactly expecting you to grace us with your presence this evening."

"Mai invited me," she said coldly, "I wasn't too interested at first, but when she mentioned that the Ootori boy was here… My interest was caught."

"I see. I'm pleased that my being here helped convinced you to come. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have seen Miss Matsumoto here dance."

Kyouya pushed the girl forward gently, the Sasaki looking at her critically. Airi knew that this girl could possibly launch her career, so she had to make a good impression.

"It's an honor to meet you, Sasaki-san," she said as she bowed her head in respect, "I know only of great things in your family."

"Then you don't know me at all, dear," the blonde said harshly.

Airi cringed a little. What was this girl's problem? She was just trying to be nice. Maybe she was rich, but that didn't give her an excuse to be such a –

"She's a very gifted ballerina," Kyouya interjected in hopes to smooth out the tension, "Since I was with her, her talent wasn't very well showcased. But if you saw her on her own, I think even you'd be impressed, madam."

The blonde's eyes flickered away from Airi to Kyouya, inspecting him. He was as all the pictures she'd seen of him: tall, dark hair, glasses. There didn't seem to be anything too special about him. Besides his father's money of course.

"Perhaps," she said, "But I'm afraid I'm leaving for home in the morning… Maybe next time I'll bring my parents to watch her."

"Really?" Airi couldn't help but squeak.

"Certainly."

Not. She would come back, but not to watch this little twig attempt to dance. What she'd seen in the show had been plenty.

She slipped Kyouya one last glance before dismissing herself, her slinky purple figure fading away until it was finally gone.

"Well. She seemed like a lovely person," Airi grumbled.

Kyouya didn't comment. Something about that girl had reminded him of someone, but he couldn't remember who. All he knew was that it probably wasn't a good idea to get too close to her.

* * *

><p>"Well at least she said she'll come back with her parents," Mai said encouragingly.<p>

"I don't know," Airi sighed, "She seemed almost sarcastic about it."

The two girls were walking down the halls of Ouran together, discussing the aftermath of the talent show. They had gotten quite close after spending so much time in music room three together.

"I know Tsukiko seems kind of… cynical," Mai admitted, "But if you got to know her, she can be quite friendly."

Airi had a hard time picturing that cold face with a smile. It didn't seem to work.

"I'm not too worried about it," she said, "I mean, if I don't get discovered here, I already have plans on going to America after high school."

Mai raised her brows surprised.

"Really? Where to?"

"There's this school in New York called Julliard. It's where the best dancers in the world go. I'm hoping I'll be able to get in, but I'm not sure."

"I'm sure you'll get in. You're one of the best dancers I've ever seen and that's coming from a girl who's seen almost every ballet in almost every country!"

It was hard not to let that praise go to her head, but Airi managed to keep a hold of her ego.

"Thank you, that's really nice of you to say."

"No problem. Just remember that you're amazing and you should have no trouble getting to where you want to be. Plus, you love it so don't ever give up… now I sound like one of those cheesy motivational speakers, so I'll keep my mouth shut."

The two laughed together as they kept walking, both glad they had found someone they could call a friend in this new school. Without really noticing it, the two made their way to music room three, instantly immersed in its signature rose petals and squealing girls.

Surprisingly enough, there wasn't a cosplay theme today. The hosts were just wearing their typical uniforms. Airi didn't blame them. The cost of the costumes probably started piling up after a while.

There was a swarm of girls around Tamaki, all goggle-eyed and love-struck. An almost equally large swarm was around Haruhi, who looked quite uncomfortable, whereas Tamaki was rolling in the admiration. Several girls were squeaking as Hunny ate some cake and spilled some on himself, Mori reaching over and cleaning it with a napkin. The twins were doing their typical brotherly love act, with plenty of girls to witness it.

"Busy day, huh?" Airi sighed.

"Quite."

The girls jumped at the sudden voice, but relaxed when they realized it was just Kyouya, writing away on his clipboard.

"You should be hosting, shouldn't you?" Mai asked, "Not giving girls heart attacks…"

"I took a break to go over some financial things," he explained, "I have a few minutes until I have to return."

"Well in _that _case…" Mai said dramatically, "I'm going to go taunt the twins. Have fun, you two."

Airi rolled her eyes as Mai gave her a wink, skipping off to go do as she said. She'd never told anyone about Kyouya, but it seemed the musician had been able to figure it out on her own.

"I wonder what she meant by that," Kyouya said slyly.

He started to move closer to her when the door suddenly flew open, lacking the usual shower of roses for once. An older man with glasses stepped in, looking less than pleased to be here. Kyouya tensed up slightly, standing up as tall as he could and holding his clipboard tightly. The whole room had gotten quiet, though Airi had no idea why.

"Hello, Father," Kyouya said, "What brings you here today?"

Father? Airi looked back and forth at the two. They were clearly related. The dark hair, glasses, the sharp, cold facial features. Yet something about the older man frightened her, while Kyouya was much more comforting.

"I'd like to speak with you outside for a moment, Kyouya," the man said.

Kyouya nodded and walked outside with him, the doors closing behind him.

Airi started to go after him, but was stopped as a hand came down on her shoulder. She turned to see Tamaki there, trying to force a smile. But she could see the worry in his violet eyes as he glanced to the doors.

"That's Kyouya's dad?" Airi asked as Tamaki's hand slid from her shoulder.

"Yes," he replied, "Yoshio Ootori is a very… hard man to impress. That's probably why he always looks so uninterested."

Like Kyouya, Airi thought. But at least he actually smiled and could show feeling. His father on the other hand looked more robotic than human. Still, she was kind of dating the man's son (they hadn't made it official, but they were definitely not just platonic friends) and she had to meet him at some time or another.

There was a sudden, sharp noise from outside the door that caused both Airi and Tamaki to catch their breath. The others had slowly gone back to business so they failed to notice the other two's reaction.

Tamaki and Airi quickly went to the door, making sure no one noticed in order not to disrupt the club again. Once they were outside they saw Kyouya in an awkward position on the floor, rubbing the side of his head in pain. His glasses were lying off to the side, one of the lenses cracked.

At first, Airi had no idea what was going on. But for Tamaki, he knew all too well.

"Kyouya!"

He ran to his best friend, kneeling beside him worriedly.

"What happened?" Airi asked weakly.

"Calm down, it's nothing, Tamaki," Kyouya said, ignoring Airi's question.

"It's not nothing!" Tamaki cried, "He hit you again, didn't he?"

Airi felt her heart fall into her stomach. Hit him? Someone hit him? But who would… oh God.

She ran to Kyouya's other side, putting her hand on his shoulder wearily.

"Your _father _hit you?" she asked in a small voice.

"It's not important," Kyouya said.

"Yes it is!" Tamaki exclaimed, "Sure, my father and I don't get along but he doesn't do that! Kyouya you have to stand up to him! Do something!"

"What did you even do to piss him off so much?" Airi asked.

Tamaki reached over and picked up his friend's glasses, looking at the crack sadly. Kyouya took them and placed them back in their rightful place, grimacing slightly when he realized that a lens was broken. Those were prescription glasses… those weren't going to be cheap to repair.

"I'm supposed to always obey my father," he answered, "But my father asked me to do something I could never do…"

He looked so sad as he said this, causing Airi's heart to break slightly. She wrapped her arms around him so he could rest his head on her shoulder, which he seemed to greatly appreciate.

"I'll have my father pay for your new glasses, Kyouya," Tamaki said, "Just let me call him."

"Tamaki…"

But the king had already left to retrieve his phone from the music room. Kyouya shook his head and adjusted his glasses as if that would fix them.

"I'm so sorry, Kyouya," Airi whimpered, making Kyouya realize she was on the verge of tears, "I didn't know… I'm so sorry…"

* * *

><p><em>What did you even do to piss him off so much?<em>

Kyouya really didn't know what to expect when he stepped outside the room with his father. He never came during school hours. What could be so important that he came all the way out here?

"I'm going to tell you straight up, Kyouya," Yoshio said, "I have become aware that the Suoh is dating Miss Fujiyoka."

Kyouya paused for a moment. Tamaki probably hadn't been able to keep his mouth shut, told Yuzuru who had told his father. Wonderful, Tamaki.

"Yes. That is correct."

Yoshio nodded and pushed his glasses up the brim of his nose, the exact same way Kyouya did. Though he wasn't aware of it, Kyouya had grown many qualities his father possessed, from simple things like pushing his glasses up that way, to his cold demeanor.

"Break them up," Yoshio said, "I want you to marry Haruhi."

**Wow. That's a lot isn't it? I almost forgot half the stuff I wrote about. **

**So first off, I need to explain this Tsukiko character. If you've read all the reviews for this story, you'll notice that CloudEnvyKunoichi often refers to "her charcter". To explain, she and I both have our own characters. They aren't based off of us really nor do they look like us. They're just "our" person. So Tsukiko is our other friend's (UnintentionalLiar) charcter. I had promised I'd put her character in and I _finally _got to it... except I made her a lot like Eclair Tonerre, which is not really a good thing. So that will probably change soon FYI!**

**What else happened... oh yeah! Sorry I didn't go into too much detail about the talent show. I wasn't in the mood for describing seven acts (I could hardly think of that many) and I didn't want to bore you guys with deescription. Hope that's okay!**

**Ok, so I covered the talent show, Tsukiko... oh yeah! Kyouya's father hit him :( I've never liked Yoshio and though he slightly appreciates Kyouya at the end of the anime, I still see him as a cruel father who's going to taunt Kyouya with the right to become the successor. It's quite messed up if you ask me. Poor Kyouya... :(**

**Ok, I think that's it... cool! So if you guys liked this super long, action packed chapter then review! I love love love to hear what you have to say! **

**Oh and if any of you guys have fanart or personal questions feel free to private message me! Lobe you guys and see you soon!**


	15. Schemes

**Hello my lovely readers! Hmm... readers... I need to give you guys a nickname! Like how those youtube people refer to their viewers as "forum" or "audience" and stuff... Let's see I'm JakeTheCat so... *gasp* You guys can be my little kittens! Ah so cute! *squee***

**Anyway, it seems like I've been updating really fast, which is weird for me. Oh, well, you guys like that, don't you? I hope so! Also, this chapter's shorter, because someone actually thought the last one was really long. I find that odd because whenever I read other fics, the chapter's are all SO FREAKING LONG and mine look dinky in comparrison. So that was my attempt at trying to write a lot like those other people, but I'll try to stick with my normal lenght unless I've got a whole lot to write about!**

**So, just for you kittens, here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 15

It wasn't that Kyouya was trying to disobey his father. He'd do anything his father asked. Well, until he was asked to marry Haruhi. He didn't have anything against Haruhi. Of course he'd pursue her if that was his father seemed fit.

But he would not betray Tamaki.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Airi asked as she looked at his face worriedly.

And then there was her…

"Yes, I'm fine," he assured, "You shouldn't worry so much."

She shook her head and took the broken glasses off his face, knowing that either way he wouldn't be able to see anything. The corner of his eye looked a little swollen, so she took his chin in her hand and tilted it so she could look at it better. Yep. Definitely swollen.

"You need some ice," she said, "It's red and swollen…"

"Airi –"

"Kyouya. You need ice. Stop trying to act so tough. It's ok to feel pain, you know."

He gave her a slightly annoyed look.

"Yes, I am aware of that."

She sighed and kissed the injured area gently, causing Kyouya to smile just a bit. But that wasn't exactly enough for him. He tilted his head up, trying to find her lips despite his lack of vision. Airi laughed softly and kissed him.

"Hold on, let me go get you some ice, ok?" she said as he pet her hair, "We can continue this after."

"In that case, don't take your time when getting that ice."

He smirked slightly as she shoved him playfully, getting up to her feet before he made her change her mind. The clink of heels was the only sign that she had actually left now that he was pretty much blind.

"I can't say I'm surprised you'd keep this hidden from me, Kyouya," a sudden voice said.

Kyouya sighed, slightly frustrated that he couldn't see his best friend.

"I didn't think your knowledge of my relationship with Airi would benefit you."

"_Are you insane, of course it would!"_

Tamaki grabbed his friend's collar, shaking him violently as he yelled in his face.

"_Kyouya, don't you understand! Now we both have girlfriends! We can go on double dates! And since Airi used to be a commoner she'll along just great with Haruhi! We'll get to spend so much time together! We'll be inseparable! Doesn't that sound amazing, Kyouya!"_

"Wonderful…"

Tamaki calmed down a bit as he realized that Kyouya wasn't exactly in the mood for his usual antics. He sat down, looking his friend in the eye. There was a long pause before anyone spoke.

"For a long time," Kyouya said softly, "I never really knew what I wanted out of life besides impressing my father… What was I supposed to do if I ever did that? What was there to believe in?"

"Kyouya!"

The boys looked to the sound, which had come from Airi who was running down the hall with a pack of ice. Even though he couldn't see her, Kyouya knew who it was, and couldn't help but smile.

"But now I know," he said, Tamaki turning to listen, "I found what comes next. What I'm going to believe in."

Had the moment not been so unusually emotional, Tamaki would have squealed and hugged his best friend, but he decided to save him the embarrassment. Airi knelt down by the two and placed the ice on Kyouya's eye, causing him to flinch away at the unexpected sting.

"Oh, you're fine," she said, "It's just a little cold."

She pressed the ice to his face again, making him mutter something under his breath. Tamaki tried not to notice Airi reach for one of Kyouya's hand with her free one, which he instantly held onto.

Tamaki smiled at the two of them, getting to his feet.

"Well, I must go back to the ladies," he said, "I trust you can take care of him, Airi."

She nodded, wondering when Tamaki had become so serious all of a sudden.

"And Kyouya… I'm glad you found it."

The two boys smiled at each other before the blonde went back in the music room, the happiness inside him swelling so much that he was practically floating. Airi looked at him confused and then turned to Kyouya, still just as puzzled.

"What did he mean by you found it?" she asked.

Kyouya smiled at her and took her face in his hands.

"Just him being an idiot," he said.

And despite his inability to see, his lips landed perfectly on top of hers.

* * *

><p>"It's really not that hard to tell," Mai said exasperated, "I've been all over the world and seen so many people… it's kind of become a talent of mine to spot differences between people after meeting as many as I have."<p>

The twins stared at her baffled. It was a perfectly good explanation, but at the same time they didn't get it. No one was supposed to be able to tell them apart except for Haruhi. She was the only one who was special to them.

Kaoru glanced over at Haruhi to find Tamaki fawning over her about something, his eyes wide despite the fact that she looked annoyed. Maybe she wasn't the only special one. After all, she was Tamaki's girlfriend now and there was nothing they could do about that. Perhaps it was time they got a new toy after all.

But Hikaru didn't see the way his brother did. He still wanted Haruhi all to himself and wasn't planning on giving up on her just yet. He and Kaoru didn't need anyone new. They were fine with what they had. But that didn't solve how he'd get Haruhi. He glanced at the Mai girl again, who was now talking to Kaoru about something regarding school. What if…?

What if he used her to make Haruhi jealous?

* * *

><p>All the girls had huge, sparkling eyes as they looked at Hunny, who was holding his beloved Usa-chan close as he spoke to them.<p>

"Takashi has a kendo competition this weekend," he said excitedly, "I told him that if he wins that I'll get him some cake as a reward! Doesn't that sound good, Takashi?"

"Yeah," Mori said in his typical monotone manner.

"What kind of cake do you want? Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or lime or carrot or ice cream or coffee or –"

"Whatever you like, Mitsukuni."

As the girls went back to squealing and giggling, Mori glanced over at the door. He'd seen Kyouya go outside with his father, but he hadn't returned. Tamaki and Airi went out a little later as well, but Tamaki was back, entertaining the guests. Where were Airi and Kyouya?

There was a pang of jealousy inside him, visible in his eyes for only a moment. A moment just long enough for Hunny to see.

"You ok, Takashi?" he asked his cousin worriedly.

"Yeah."

There was no point in trying to impress Airi now. He looked down at the flower he'd pinned to his jacket. He'd planned on giving it to her once business was done for the day, but she probably would just laugh at him. So, he unpinned the flower from his jacket and let it fall to the floor.

**I'll be honest. I had NO IDEA what to write this chapter. So it's kind of a filler when you think about it. But important stuff _did _happen! Hikaru and Mori scheming! Pretty food stuff, am I right? Though I don't really see Mori as a schemer... Hikaru on the other hand... yes. -.- (Let's just say he's my least favorite Host). **

**And for those of you who have fanart, first: I love you! I drew some of my one and one is actually my new picture on my profile page so go check it out if you want! Second: you can either upload your art to a website and private message me the link or you can email it to me at and I'll try to make a slideshow of them all to put on YouTube once I have enough!**

**What else... oh! Some of what Kyouya said was inspired by his character song. Character song you ask? Why all the hosts have one! They're in Japanese but I will put the links to translated versions on my profile pages so you can understand them! Kyouya and Mori both have very beautiful ones, Hunny's is really freaking cute, the twins is ok (remember, not a Hikaru fan) and Tamaki's is just... very Tamaki-y. They're all really good though so you should listen to them! Link on the profile page!**

**And that's it I think! So, please review kitties (kittens or kitties? I forgot what I said above) so I can keep updating this faster. Hope you liked it! Bless your face! If you sneezed while reading this, bless you!**


	16. Help

**Hello kitties! Ha, that sounds weird, I don't know if I'll keep it up... Well, I don't have much to say here. This chapter was unexpectedly lenghty, but most people seem to like longer ones. Hope you like it!**

Chapter 16

Taking trips with the Host Club to a commoner's strip mall wasn't exactly how Kyouya had imagined his winter break. He'd hoped he'd be able to catch up on his studies, spent some quiet time with Airi, and see his friends on occasion. This was a bit much.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki called, "Come look at this!"

The young man turned and realized that the others had started ahead, piling into one of the stores where there was a display of snow-globes. That seemed to be the kind of trinket Tamaki would obsess over.

He started to walk over to join them, pushing his glasses up, when something came at him from behind, a pair of arms wrapping around his waist.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" a familiar voice squeaked.

Kyouya smiled and stopped, turning around in the pair of arms so he could return the embrace. It was good to see Airi. He hadn't gotten the chance to see her since school was let out. He was starting to miss her.

"The club dragged me here," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Mai," she replied, "She just went in a store to see something when I realized you were here. And this place has some pretty cool stuff on occasion."

"A commoner place like this?"

"Don't act like such a snob."

"Who said I was acting?"

She rolled her eyes and pulled away a little bit, but didn't resist when he held her hand.

"Where are they anyway?" she asked, "You said you were here with the club…"

"_Airi!"_

The girl was suddenly smothered by Tamaki, Hunny and the twins, Mori and Haruhi following behind in a much more normal manner. Now that she saw Kyouya so much, the girl had been pretty much adopted into the "family" as Tamaki called it.

"Hey, guys!" she choked out as she was hugged by them all, "Good to see you, too!"

"Geez, Airi, I leave for two minutes and you've already managed to find the club," Mai sighed as she exited a nearby store, laughing at the sight of the predicament her friend was in.

Now that she was with Kyouya, they seemed to always be around. But she didn't mind. It was nice to see Airi getting along with them. At least she'd have some friends once she had to leave with her touring parents, even if they were all guys. Well, except for Haruhi. Mai had been able to tell Haruhi was a girl practically from the moment they met, just like how she could tell the twins apart.

"It wasn't like I planned it," Airi said as she squirmed out of the boys' arms, "I'm starting to think they're stalking me."

"Maybe Kyouya put a tracking device in you," Mai teased.

"Funny," the Ootori said flatly.

As the two argued over whether installing a tracking device in the girl was even possible, Haruhi pulled her jacket closer, noticing that it was starting to get pretty cold. Tamaki noticed and wrapped his arms around her, putting his chin on her head.

"It's getting kinda chilly," Haruhi ventured to say, "There's a coffee shop not too far, you guys wanna go?"

"Do they have hot chocolate?" Hunny asked, "With lots of whipped cream and marshmallows?"

"Most likely, sempai," Tamaki answered, "It sounds pretty good to me as long as the twins have decaf?"

"What are you trying to say?" the redheads asked in unison.

"I have no problem with that," Kyouya said, "What about you, Mori-sempai?"

The man just nodded, not needing to give any more sign of an answer to be understood. He followed after the others, who were discussing what they were going to get. Kyouya lagged behind a little bit, staying with Airi and Mai.

"Would you ladies like to join us?" he asked.

"We would, but I have to go to dance," Airi sighed, "And Mai's got violin lessons… but it was good seeing you. Call me tomorrow?"

"Of course."

They stole a quick kiss, Mai giggling childishly as her friend returned to her side. All of them said goodbye and Kyouya gave Airi one last smile before turning around to join the others.

"Look at you, you're sickening!" Mai taunted, "You look like you should have hearts floating around your head."

"You know you could get a boyfriend if you wanted to," Airi shot back, "Then you'd understand how I felt."

"Well considering you're with Kyouya, and Haruhi's with Tamaki, that leaves me with the six year old, tall, dark and mute, and then the idiot players."

"Stop it! Hunny's sweet and Mori's a nice guy. The twins… I don't know them much. Kaoru's pretty nice but Hikaru just seems…"

"Please, don't get me _started _on him. I already had to do a show with that moron."

"I was going to say he seems a little more complicated. God, you're awful!"

"Well, let's be honest here. Hunny just doesn't seem like boyfriend material. He's cute, but in a brother way. Of course, Mori is gorgeous but I think I caught him looking at you."

"You're ridiculous."

"Fine, don't believe me. And Hikaru seems interested in stealing Haruhi from Tamaki, so that really only leaves Kaoru."

"There are other guys at the school, Mai."

"But if you get to date a host then so should I."

Airi rolled her eyes. Mai could be so stubborn sometimes.

"Well, I'm parked over there, so I'll see you later," she said.

"Alright, see ya later, Airi!"

"See ya!"

She turned to go find her car, humming contentedly to herself. It was good to see the club again, as crazy as they were. They made her feel accepted, even though she didn't belong in such a society. Tamaki and Haruhi we're both very kind to her, most likely since they were impressed she'd been able to crack the Shadow King. Hunny made her laugh and the twins, despite their mischievous nature, were fun to be around. And then there was Mori. He was like a wall of safety. If he was in the room, Airi knew she'd be safe.

But Mai had to have been making up that he'd been looking at her. She was obviously with Kyouya and the two were friends; he wouldn't come between that. He was too nice of a guy.

The girl was suddenly jerked from her thoughts as an arm grabbed her shirt, forcing her into a small space between two of the stores. A strong force pressed her against the wall, causing her to gasp.

"Give me the purse!" a gruff voice demanded.

Airi struggled as she realized what was happening. She was getting mugged. And the hosts were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

><p>A few stores away, a tall and quiet man was talking quietly to himself, holding a flower he'd picked from a plant box that had been hanging in one of the store's windows. The rest of the club was still in the coffee shop, but he'd dismissed himself.<p>

"Airi," he said to the flower, "I… I know we don't know each other that well, but… but I'd like to get to know you better… damn, that sounds stupid."

He sighed and leaned against the shop's wall, covering his face with his free hand. Why would she even bother with him? He'd never done anything special to make her notice him.

A sudden thud caught his attention, and he glanced to the side to see a man in black forcing a woman against a wall, a knife in his hand.

Mori had started running even before he knew it was Airi, and once he realized that he only ran faster. The second he was close enough he swung his fist at the man's jaw, sending him flying to the side, the knife falling to the ground.

Airi's knees started to shake. She'd almost been killed just now. Again. Her legs gave out and she was quickly caught by her savior, whose shadow cast over the wounded thug.

"I'd run if I were you," Mori said in a threatening voice, "If I wasn't holding her you'd be dead by now."

The man got to his feet, rubbing his jaw as he ran off. Much to his misfortune, two security guards had witnessed the scene and darted after him.

Mori put a hand on the frightened girl's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

It took a moment for Airi to realize who it was. Mori? Where was Hunny then? And the rest of the club? And after she'd just been thinking about him, here he was.

Mori looked down at his hand that was at his side, still curled in a fist. When he opened it, he saw the flower, crushed. He winced. There went that idea. But, maybe…

He lifted his hand up and offered her the injured flower.

"For you," he said, "It was prettier before…"

Airi's eyes widened. A flower? But why was he giving it to her? She decided to ignore his motives and took the flower, smiling weakly at it. It was a very sweet gesture, especially after he'd just saved her life. First Kyouya had and now him. She was a walking disaster.

"Mori-senpai!"

The two of them looked to see the entire Host Club rushing over, worried after their friend had bolted for some unknown reason. Once Airi was spotted, Kyouya ran even faster, taking the girl in his arms and hugging her tightly.

"What happened?" Tamaki asked once they all made it.

"A man tried… to steal my purse…" Airi managed to get out, "Mori… saved me…"

Kyouya glanced down and noticed the knife, quickly jerking her to the side as if it would jump up and bite her.

"He was armed," he hissed, "Did you call the police?"

"There were security guards," Mori answered, "They went after him."

Kyouya nodded as he continued to hug Airi, who was now in tears from the shock. He looked over at Mori, who was watching her worriedly. He knew that his older friend had taken interest in Airi as well, but at that moment he didn't look at Kyouya with jealousy. Instead, his face was filled with relief. The younger man nodded his head in appreciation and went back to worrying over Airi. Mori simply stood there, watching.

Airi trembled in Kyouya's arms, feeling safe in them. She rested her chin on his shoulder, leaning his face against his as he did the same. She brought her hand up behind his back and opened it, revealing the small flower.

She had so many questions that needed answering. She didn't know what to do.

Kyouya made her feel happy and safe.

Yet what Mori had just done…

"Airi?"

She looked to the side at Kyouya's face, centimeters away from hers. Her heart fluttered. Her head was spinning.

What was she supposed to do?

**Oh, how I love twists and turns. You should know that those will happen a lot, so beware. I've been rewatching the shows and (besides Tamaki) Mori and Kyouya are my favorite, so my heart is so torn! And I know that the last chapter with Mori was kind of depressing and I've been told he needed to make a move, so he has! Hopefully that's good!**

**Um, I can't think of much to say except that I'm awaiting your fanart excitedly and that that dub Kunoichi and I are doing should be up pretty soon because I finally figured out how to work my computer! Yay for technological genius!**

**So review! Almost at 100! I'll throw a party once I get there! I don't know what I'll do for you guys, but I'll think of something! I promise! Love you kitties!**


	17. First Impressions

**Hi everyone! All my little kitties! *hehe* Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! Love you guys! Um. I'm not going to do much commentary because this chapter is kind of a monster length-wise. It was going to be pretty short and then stuff just kept spewing out of me (that sounded so weird). Enjoy!**

Chapter 17

Airi stared at herself in the mirror. She had no clue what to wear. Kyouya had invited her to dinner to meet his family for the first time. Though she wanted to look pretty for Kyouya, she didn't want to look slutty or anything in front of his family. She hadn't forgotten how his father had hit him, so she knew that she had to make a good impression.

"Airi?"

There was a soft knock on the door and Airi turned to look at it. She was kind of in the middle of something…

"Yes, Uncle Yuki?"

"Can I come in?"

The girl paused for a moment. There were dresses and skirts all over the room, along with several scatted heels.

"Um, sure."

The door opened and a tall, middle-aged man came inside, surprised to see all the clothes. It was hard to tell he was Airi's uncle. He had short, black hair and plain brown eyes. There wasn't anything distinct about him, but he was a nice guy.

"Did a tornado hit this place?" he asked with a chuckle.

"No," she sighed, "I'm trying to find something to wear for dinner… I need to really impress his family."

The man smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed, pushing a gray dress to the floor in the process.

"You really like this guy, don't you?"

Airi turned to look at him and nodded. It'd been a week since the incident at the strip mall and she'd decided that she was truly starting to fall for Kyouya, and didn't want to mess things up by getting curious about Mori.

"Yes," she answered, "He's very special… but his family! I don't think I own anything to impress the Ootori's!"

"I always forget that you're dating the youngest Ootori boy," her father sighed, "I believe your aunt Kisa met with them once… but you know me, I'm not into that scene."

It was actually true. Though Yuki was wealthy through marriage, he wasn't into the whole celebrity thing. He preferred a simple, laid-back lifestyle, despite the fact that the amount of food in his kitchen could probably feed a small country.

"Kyouya's very important to me, Uncle," she said, "I mean… I always feel so happy with him."

"He sounds like a remarkable young man. We should have him over for dinner as well. I'd love to meet him."

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

It was the last week of winter break though, so either they'd have to wait until the next holiday or do it on a weekend where they weren't busy. She could just picture it: Kyouya greeting her aunt and uncle, the two of them fawning over him, accepting him instantly…

"Well if you want my advice," Yuki interjected, "You should wear something blue. You always look so pretty in blue because of those eyes of yours. Just like your mother."

His face became sad when he mentioned his sister. The two had been very close and it had been just as hard on him to know about her death as it was for Airi.

"Thanks, Uncle Yuki," she said in hopes of lifting his spirits, "I was worried because I thought it might be too bright…"

"Isn't that the point? Whatever you wear you'll light up the room. How bad can his family be?"

Airi looked over at a cute blue dress lying on her pillow. Should she tell him? No. Kyouya probably didn't want everyone knowing about how his father treated him.

"I just want them to like me," she said after a moment, "They're bluebloods, and I'm just a… a commoner. What if I make an idiot of myself?"

"You've been at Ouran for months now. I'd think you be used to the rich life by now."

"It's not an easy adjustment, I'll tell you that."

"Oh, I know. Took me a while to get used to living like this. It's not my favorite thing, but I love Kisa, so I stay."

Huh. It must have been really weird for him going through such a huge lifestyle change. Airi knew it had been for her, and it'd only been a few months.

"I think blue will be perfect," she said softly, "Thanks, Uncle Yuki."

"Don't mention it, honey. Now, go knock those stiffs dead!"

* * *

><p><em>You can do this. Just because they're filthy rich and the dad's abusive doesn't mean you should be intimidated. You care about Kyouya. You're doing this for him. It will mean so much to him. It's only a couple hours. You can make it. Just keep calm and it'll be easy.<em>

She took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell with a shaking finger.

_Crap! Crap, you can't do this! Run! Run and maybe you can get in the car before anyone opens the door!_

Unfortunately, the door opened before she could even start to turn around. A young woman in a simple, green dress stood in the doorway, her long black hair billowing down behind her. Judging by the gray eyes, Airi assumed that she was somehow related to Kyouya. But she was way too young to be his mother.

"You must be Airi," the woman said in a kind voice, "I'm Kyouya's sister, Fuyumi. I don't even live here anymore but when Kyouya told me he was bringing a girl home to dinner… well I just had to meet her!"

Airi's nerves started to relax. His sister seemed really nice and much more friendly than expected. Then again, she hadn't even known Kyouya had a sister. He'd only mentioned older brothers.

"Oh," the girl said bashfully, "It's very nice to meet you. But, if you don't live here, then where do you stay?"

"I'm married. My husband and I live a few towns over. Oh, listen to me talking about myself, when tonight is about you! Come in, come in, Kyouya's still getting ready, but he should be done soon."

The woman took Airi by the hand and pulled her inside, shutting the door behind them before taking her through the house. Airi had been here before, but hadn't paid much attention. Only now did she realize how enormous it was.

After a bit of travelling, Fuyumi led them to Kyouya's room, or at least the lower part of it. Two white sofas sat in the middle with a modern table between them, a large flat screen nearby and a long dresser up against the wall. There were stairs just to the left that led to his bed, but Airi didn't feel like she was allowed to go there.

"Kyouya!" Fuyumi called, "Your girlfriend's here! And why didn't you tell me she was so pretty?"

Airi could hear him groan from upstairs, making her smile. It seemed like most people got so easily annoyed with their siblings. She wondered why.

"I'll be down in a minute," he called, "Could you please make Airi comfortable?"

The woman just rolled her eyes and brought Airi over to the sofa on the far side of the room.

"I'm just going to go talk to him really quick," she said, "Feel free to do whatever you like."

Before Airi could ask what that meant, the woman had already started heading up the stairs. She fidgeted nervously and turned her head around. The entire wall was just four tall windows. She looked to her left. More windows. That had to be a little awkward didn't it? Not much privacy. Then again, the Ootori's owned so much property that it wasn't like there were any neighbors who could look in.

"Kyouya?" Fuyumi called quietly.

She caught her younger brother in the corner of the room, struggling to fix his tie. Didn't he have to wear one for school? Surely he'd know how to properly tie a tie by now.

The woman rolled her eyes and walked over to him, taking the tie from his hands without asking.

"Fuyumi, I know how to do that," he protested.

"It seems you've forgotten how," she teased, "It looked like you were trying to tie your shoes for the first time."

He pushed his glasses up.

"I'm just a bit… nervous," he admitted, "This is the first time I've ever brought a girl home and I want it to go perfectly."

Fuyumi pulled on the tie to make sure it was snug.

"Well, nothing is perfect," she said, "But you don't need to worry. She's a beautiful girl, Kyouya, and she seems very sweet."

"I just hope that Father approves of her."

Fuyumi noticed her brother look down as he said this.

"What if he doesn't?" she asked, "That's no cause to leave the girl. Father will accept her, okay? Stop worrying."

He sighed as she stepped back. It was true that he was really starting to feel for Airi, but he didn't know what he'd do if his father didn't like her.

"How do I look?" he asked.

Fuyumi looked him up and down. He was wearing black slacks, a gray dress shirt and a black tie.

"Honestly," she said, "You look drab. But there's no time to change, Airi's waiting down there for you!"

With that, she pushed him towards the stairs, almost sending him tumbling down head first. Kyouya managed to catch himself and looked only slightly embarrassed as he walked down the stairs. He hoped that Airi hadn't noticed.

He stole a glance at her to make sure he'd gone unnoticed. She was sitting on one of the sofas, looking around at the room, obviously unaware that he was there. She was wearing a pretty blue dress, her hair seeming to be done with extreme care for the occasion. He'd seen her before but this was…

His foot suddenly missed a step and he slid down the last few steps, holding onto the banister in an attempt to keep himself from falling to the floor. Airi looked over to see her boyfriend sliding down the stairs' railing, his face uncharacteristically red.

"Kyouya!" she gasped as she sprung to her feet, "Are you ok?"

The young man quickly recovered and brushed himself off, straightening his back as he nodded.

"I'm fine, just missed a step."

"Graceful, aren't you?" Airi teased.

"Well we can't all be lovely ballerinas, can we?"

"Perhaps we could, but I can't exactly picture you in a leotard and tights."

Now that was quite the image. Kyouya shook it off and laced his arm with Airi's to escort her to dinner. Fuyumi stayed a few steps behind the whole way, bursting with pride. She'd always worried that he'd just do what Father said and never be happy. But this girl seemed to lift his spirits like no one had before.

"My brothers won't be joining us this evening," Kyouya mentioned, "They're out of the country right now operating at some of my family's international resorts."

"Oh," the girl said slightly disappointed, "That's too bad. I was really hoping to meet them."

Kyouya looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She really did seem upset that she wouldn't be meeting his brothers. But why was that such a big deal? He'd thought it be a bit of a stress reliever for her; meeting his whole family at once would be a lot of pressure.

"I'm sure they'd love to meet you once they return," he said quickly, "We could always arrange something if you'd like."

Airi turned and looked at him with those big blue eyes he tended to lose himself in. A smile crept up the corners of her mouth.

"I'd like that," she said.

_Sure you're nervous but that's ok. Look, he's holding your arm. He cares about you. There's nothing to worry about. If he cares about you then his father has to like you. Just don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine. _

* * *

><p><em>You can't! This is insane! Get out! This isn't you! Run away!<em>

Airi's hand was shaking as she tried to lift up the soba with her chopsticks. Why was this so difficult? They were just noodles!

From the second she'd sat down at the enormous table she knew she wouldn't be able to do this. It was all so intimidating. Kyouya's father sat at the head of the table, looking just as frighteningly unapproachable as she'd imagined. Airi had been seated on the right side of Mr. Ootori, with Fuyumi across from her and Kyouya at her side. So far, the man of the house had not said a word to her.

"So, Miss Matsumoto," his deep voice suddenly rang in her ears.

She jumped and dropped the noodles back on the plate, her face flushing with embarrassment. The older man didn't seem to mind.

"Kyouya only tells me great things about you," he continued, "I believe he mentioned that you're a dancer."

"Y-yes," the girl stammered, "I am."

Mr. Ootori seemed unimpressed.

"What kind of dance do you do?"

"Ballet," she said quietly.

Kyouya looked at her worriedly. He'd known this would be a rocky situation, but he hadn't expected Airi to be so nervous.

"I see," Mr. Ootori said, "At least it's a decent hobby."

"Oh, it's n-not a hobby," Airi explained, "I'm hoping to go to America after I graduate and attend one of their performing arts schools."

The older man's face fell and it became deathly silent. Airi looked to Kyouya for support. His face was blank. He should've known his father would disapprove.

"I could see it as a fun activity in your spare time," Mr. Ootori finally said, "But a living? You would dance for a few years and get old and be replaced. That doesn't seem very wise."

Kyouya panicked.

"I didn't know you wanted to go to America after Ouran," he said quickly, "Have you started practicing English?"

He glanced over at his father, who'd narrowed his eyes. He'd noticed his son's less than subtle attempt to change the subject.

"I've been doing pretty well actually," Airi answered with relief, "It's a very interesting language."

"That country's economy isn't doing very well though," Mr. Ootori interjected, "They're the reason the international market is suffering. Why would you want to live in a place like that?"

"Father –" Fuyumi started to speak, but was cut off by her brother.

"Cultural diversity… America is the most diverse country on earth, after all. It'd be quite the learning experience. And despite the fact that their economy is in turmoil, it's been leading global economy for decades now, and the current recession proves just how influential it is."

His father raised a brow impressed, giving only a nod in response. Airi turned to Kyouya and mouthed "thank you." He smiled and nodded just like his father had. Well, it looked like they were related after all.

There was quite a bit of tension in the air for a while longer, but fortunately nothing terrible happened. It was mostly talk about school and Fuyumi's family and how the family's business was doing. Airi was just glad the attention had been directed to someone other than her. She didn't think she'd be able to take it anymore.

"Pass the salt," Mr. Ootori said suddenly.

Airi looked and realized she was closest to it, so she assumed he was talking to her. In actuality, the servant behind her was who he'd been addressing, and the two reached for the salt at the same time. The servant had a much farther distance to reach, so he had to lean over Airi in order to get to it. The girl jumped at the unexpected body behind her and instinctively slung her hand behind her, spilling the salt and causing the servant to fall on the table.

The rest looked like it came out of a movie. The table rattled with the newfound weight on it, causing the food at the edges to spill over. Fuyumi jumped up as wasabi fell on her dress, her knee banging the table and causing Mr. Ootori's wine to spill all over him. Kyouya started to get up when his noodles flew onto his shirt from Fuyumi hitting the table so hard.

Airi looked like a ghost.

"I am _so _sorry!" she gasped, "I didn't realize that… Oh, I'm _so sorry!"_

Mr. Ootori gave her a look that made her freeze in terror. He looked so mad… so disgusted. She felt so horrible. All she'd wanted to do was impress him and this was what happened…

"I'm so sorry…" she whimpered.

Without really thinking about it, the girl pushed herself away from the table and ran off into the house, hoping she'd be able to find the front door on her own.

"Airi!" Kyouya called worried.

But she only kept running. Kyouya pushed himself away from the table, the noodles that had been on his shirt spilling to the floor. He ran off after without even giving his father a glance. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't want to see the look of disgust on his father's face. All he wanted to do was make sure Airi was ok.

Meanwhile, Fuyumi was helping clean up the mess with the servants. She felt so bad for the poor girl. Her nerves had obviously gotten to her. And she'd cracked.

"I don't know what on earth he sees in her," Mr. Ootori scoffed as he dabbed his suit with a cloth, "All I can hope for is that it will end soon, preferably after this incident. He should realize now that she doesn't belong here."

* * *

><p>"Airi! Airi, it's alright! Where are you?"<p>

Kyouya truly felt bad for her. It was rather embarrassing and he knew all she'd wanted to do was impress him. But it wasn't her fault that all that had happened. It'd been an accident.

He ran into his room and caught a blue blur running up the stairs. Well, at least she couldn't keep running once she got up there. It was just one room.

"Airi, it's ok," he said as he hurried up the steps, "You're really overreacting…"

He looked around and saw her curled up in the corner, her head between her knees. She was actually shaking, as if she'd been frightened by something. The poor thing. He went over and knelt beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her head snapped up as she gasped, looking at him with puffy, wet eyes.

"Airi…"

"I'm so sorry, Kyouya!" she wept, "I just wanted to be worthy and… and I spilt all that stuff and… oh I made myself look like an idiot and now you probably think I'm an idiot…"

He looked at her sympathetically. It had been quite embarrassing, but he didn't think any less of her. If anything she'd just revealed more of her personality to him.

Without saying anything, Kyouya lifted Airi in his arms, making her catch her breath.

"W-what are y-you d-d-doing?" she stammered nervously.

"Calm down," he sighed as he sat down on the edge of his bed, "You really need to relax."

Airi shivered as Kyouya loosened his tie, slipping it off and setting it on the floor.

"B-but…" she stammered," I completely r-ruined it… My one ch-chance to i-impress your d-dad and I m-messed it u-u-up…"

He brushed some of her tears away, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Whether or not you impress him isn't important," he said, "As long as you're happy being with me, that's all that really matters."

More tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him. He really did care about her.

For no particular reason, Kyouya unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it beside the tie, causing Airi to freak out a little.

"It was stained and dirty," he explained, "It's not like I'm taking anything else off."

The girl just stared at him. She was alone. With a shirtless boy. On a bed. She was on the verge of passing out from the shock of it all.

"If it bothers you that much I'll go get another shirt…"

"No! It's ok!"

Sure she would've been more comfortable if he'd put on a shirt, but he was so… gorgeous. Even though, she told herself that nothing was going to happen to make this situation more awkward. They'd just talk.

* * *

><p>"Kyouya?" Fuyumi asked as she tiptoed into his room.<p>

He'd run off after Airi a while ago and decided that she better wait to make sure everything was ok. It wasn't like he was going to do anything stupid.

Once she reached the top of the staircase, she peered and was able to see them. They were both lying on the bed asleep, fully clothed except for Kyouya's lack of a shirt. Her brother still had his glasses on, proof that nothing had happened between them. They'd probably just dozed off.

She went over to them and took Kyouya's glasses off, setting them on his dresser. They really looked quite peaceful; she didn't want to disturb them. She'd call Airi's house and tell them she'd fallen asleep and that they'd drive her home in the morning. Surely they'd understand.

Before going to the phone, she grabbed a blanket from underneath the bed and draped it over them. It was still winter and she didn't want them to be cold.

Fuyumi gave them one last look before heading to find a phone. They really did look so sweet together. Kyouya was holding her and she was cuddled up against him for warmth. It was adorable.

How could Father not understand that?

**I've had the idea for this chapter FOREVER so now it's not a filler. I actually really REALLY wanted to get some fluff in here, but it's not too much, right? And I just love Kyouya... gah! I know he might have seemed a little OOC but... deal with it. That's how I'm making him. You don't have to like it but I do!**

**Okay, kitties! Review time! You gave me a lot last chapter so I'm hoping it'll happen again! I'll give you cookies if you do!**


	18. Good Morning

**Hi kittens! How have you been? I feel like it's been a really long time since I updated. Has it been? I think I'm going crazy. Oh well! So this chapter is kind of short, but I like it so I hope you do too!**

Chapter 18

Haruhi sighed as Tamaki pounded on Kyouya's front door. She knew what kind of a morning person Kyouya-sempai was and didn't want to have to experience it. Plus, he was probably the last member of the club they should ever surprise given his personality.

"This is really stupid, even for you," she groaned, "You know what Kyouya-sempai is like in the morning… and how do you even have a surprise double date? What if Airi's busy?"

"Then we'll just call the others!" he said proudly, "And the whole club can go out again."

"Because we haven't done that enough…"

"Come on, Haruhi, it's the last day of break! It'll be fun!"

Going out with Kyouya wasn't exactly what Haruhi considered fun, but if Airi was there at least she'd have someone to relate to. And, whether she wanted to admit or not, she was starting to care deeply about Tamaki. So if this made him happy, then she'd deal with it.

The door opened a moment later, a rather annoyed servant greeting them.

"We're looking for Kyouya," Tamaki said.

"The young master is sleeping–"

Of course Tamaki took that as an invitation to come inside, so he grabbed Haruhi's hand and swept inside the house, past the irritated servant who just muttered something and closed the door.

"Tamaki!" Haruhi protested, "He's asleep! We can't wake him up, he might kill us!"

"Oh, don't worry, once I mention Airi he'll be wide awake!"

Haruhi groaned as he sped through the house. She'd never seen Kyouya's house before… it was enormous. She didn't know how else to describe it. Just really big. Especially his room… it was two stories.

_I hate these damn rich people._

"_Kyouya!" _Tamaki sang as he skipped up the stairs in his room, _"Guess what?"_

Haruhi lagged a little behind him, but once she made it to the top of the stairs she ran into his back, grunting at the unexpected blow.

"Ow, why did you stop?" she muttered as she rubbed her head.

Tamaki just stood there frozen, staring at the bed in front of him. He managed to lift his arm and point at it, his face twisting into confusion. Haruhi followed his finger and realized why he was acting the way he was.

Kyouya was there in bed alright. But he wasn't alone. Haruhi and Tamaki's jaws dropped in unison. Well… this was awkward.

"_Kyouya! Kyouya, how could you? What are you doing? Why is Airi here? Why aren't you wearing clothes? And your glasses are off! You expect me to believe you just fell asleep with them off? And with her? Mama!"_

Airi instantly woke up at the sudden screaming, her eyes opening to see that was lying with Kyouya. She squeaked and sat up, only to notice the others and squeak again.

_What? How? Who? When?_

"You idiot…" an angry voice grumbled.

All eyes turned to Kyouya, who was reluctantly sitting up, rubbing his temples.

"_Kyouya! How could you do this to me! I know that you can be impulsive but this is just crazy!"_

"Nothing happened, dumbass."

Kyouya stuck his leg out from under the sheets and revealed his slacks. He then gestured to Airi, whose dress was clearly still on her.

"We fell asleep," he hissed, "I was hoping to actually have a good night's sleep for once, but I see that you had to go and ruin it, as you do everything."

"_Then why are your glasses off? If you fell asleep they'd be on!"_

The tired man looked over and could see a fuzzy image of his glasses on the nightstand. If he'd planned on getting up he would've put them back on. Instead, he turned his attention to the blonde blur at the foot of his bed.

"My sister probably took them off," he sighed, "And given us this blanket… Now, as you can see, we were sleeping."

With that, he flopped back down on the bed, Airi watching surprised. She'd never seen him act like that. She'd heard that he wasn't a morning person, but this… was something else.

She glanced over to the two visitors in shock, trying to smile like this was normal.

"Well at least we know she isn't busy," Haruhi mumbled.

Tamaki cringed. He knew that Kyouya wouldn't do something as reckless as sleep with a girl so young, but… he'd definitely given him cause to panic.

"I'm really sorry," Airi said with a red face, "I was just supposed to have dinner here but Kyouya and I talked a lot after and I guess we drifted off… I didn't realize he was expecting you."

"I wasn't," Kyouya grunted as he buried himself deeper in the bed.

"This was his idea," Haruhi said as she glanced at Tamaki, "I knew it'd be stupid to come, but he's persistent."

"I'm just sorry you came while I was here. You probably just wanted to see Kyouya after all."

"Actually–"

"_Of course not!"_

Tamaki had managed to regain his usual eccentricity and decided to show it off a little.

"We were hoping you'd join us for a double date," he said with a huge smile, "I know it's unexpected, but I thought it'd be a lovely way to end the winter break."

Airi smiled excitedly, but quickly glanced to the half asleep Kyouya. A double date didn't really sound like his thing. Plus, he didn't seem to be in the best mood to be out socializing.

"Um, it sounds fun," she said weakly, "But I don't think he's really… up for it."

"I don't want to," Kyouya mumbled flatly, "If you'd planned ahead, maybe I would, but right now I'd like to enjoy my sleep. Just go home, Tamaki. I'm not in the mood."

Airi looked at the blonde helplessly. He really seemed like he wanted to go, but Kyouya seemed adamant about getting his sleep. She didn't like being in this situation. Why was she the one always put in the middle?

"Tamaki-sempai," she said warily, "How about we call you once he's gotten his sleep in? We could always do something in the afternoon or evening."

He looked at her shocked for a moment, making her worry she'd upset him.

"_That's a great idea! Just call us when you're ready! Let's go, Haruhi! We need to start thinking of plans!"_

With that, he dragged a helpless Haruhi away in order to come up with plans for their slightly postponed date.

"That was disgustingly nice of you," Kyouya grumbled, "How could you be so friendly this early?"

"Well I think acting any way was nice compared to you," she retorted.

He smirked and pulled her arm so that she lay next to him again. His arms wrapped around her and he brought her close, either for warmth or just because he wanted to.

"Just go to sleep," he sighed as his eyelids started to fall.

"Fine," she mumbled, "But only because you're really warm…"

They both knew it was a lie. Sure he was warm but that wasn't why she wanted to stay there.

**So did you like it? I know it's really short, but I didn't know what else to put in. I was going to add some stuff about the twins but... they irritate me. Plus I was kind of lazy and I just really wanted to get this out for you guys! There will be more soon I promise!**

**On an off note, I have recently become addicted to _Soul Eater _and have started working on a fic for that. I don't know if any of you watch it, but I just finished it and thought it was _amazing!_ And I'm kind of in love with Stein so the fic might have a lot of him in it, but the main characters will be in it as well of course.**

**Ok, so I think that's it! Please review! Also, I have a poll on my profile to vote for your favorite host. I'm thinking whoever wins might get their own special something in a future chapter *hint hint* So if you want your favorite host to have more face time, vote! And review! Love you!**


	19. Note

**Hey everyone! I know you're probably expecting a chapter since it's been FOREVER since I've updated this, but... this is just a note. Sorry! I've been trying so hard to keep this fic going, but I've gotten so stuck and I hate it! Don't worry, I'm not giving up, I just wanted to let you know that I didn't die or anything and I'm not abandoning it! I've just been kind of busy and school's starting, so I hope you can bear with me. I do have a new Soul Eater fic though, and I haven't gotten any writer's block there, so until my mind clears, you can always read that. I love you guys all and I really appreciate your support and reviews! They mean everything to me! Hope to see you soon!**

**-JakeTheCat**


	20. Double Date

**OH. MY. GOD. I'M. BAAAAAAAAAAACK! And you all thought I died! Ha! Fear not, for I have returned! Wow, that sounded egoistic... Anyway! This chapter's kind of short, but at least it's an update! Am I right? Well, here you go!**

Chapter 19

"Tamaki, this is stupid, even for you," Kyouya grumbled.

After he'd gotten his sleep, Kyouya had been forced to go on a double date with Tamaki and Haruhi. If it had been just him and Airi he would've been fine with it, but knowing Tamaki, this wouldn't be a typical date.

He'd taken them all to a local park where an ice-skating rink had been set up for the holiday season. There were lots of people already skating, some doing fancy tricks in the middle while others just skated along the side.

Kyouya knew this was a bad idea. Tamaki was already the most uncoordinated person he knew; there was no way he'd be able to stand on skates.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Airi encouraged, "It's like dancing!"

"With razor blades on your feet," Kyouya muttered.

"Don't be so whiny!" Tamaki cried, "Let's have fun!"

The four all rented their skates and started to lace up. Kyouya struggled a bit to get them to tie; they were so tight and they had to keep criss-crossing all over. Airi noticed and giggled a little, going over to help him once she'd finished.

"Can you at least pretend to have fun?" she asked.

"That's going to be a little challenging," he sighed.

The two glanced over Tamaki, who was having issues just walking over to rink in the skates, let alone actually being on the ice. Haruhi attempted to hold him upright, but he still flopped around like a fish.

"You're horrible," Airi sighed as she helped him to his feet.

"So I've been told."

Airi rolled her eyes and helped him over to the rink; Tamaki wasn't the only one who had problems walking in skates. She stepped onto the ice, having no problems standing up whatsoever. Being a graceful ballerina certainly paid off in this situation.

"Come on," she said as she offered her hand, "It won't bite you."

"No," Kyouya sighed, "But I could fall."

"Don't be such a baby. I mean, look at Tamaki."

Kyouya glanced over and sweat-dropped at what he saw. Tamaki was screaming and flailing all over the place, causing the other skaters to fall in attempt to get out of his way. Haruhi was yelling at him and trying to stop him, but to no avail.

"Your best friend, not mine," Airi teased.

Kyouya sighed and took her hand, warily stepping out onto the ice. It was a little slippery, but his first foot didn't fall from beneath him. He lifted up his other foot to bring it on the ice as well. Instantly, his first foot slipped under him and he crashed down onto the ice, bringing Airi down with him.

He groaned in irritation while Airi just laughed.

"We're off to a good start!" she giggled.

Kyouya rolled his eyes as she got off of him, offering her hand again. He just stayed sitting on the ice, looking at her hand suspiciously. That fall had hurt! Doing it again didn't really sound like his idea of fun.

"We can hold onto the railing," she said, "What, you're not gonna give up are you?"

Kyouya's brows rose. She knew him too well. He was never one to give up, not after he'd met Tamaki. He reluctantly reached up and took her hand, allowing her to pull him up. She quickly pushed him over to the railing, which he clung to as if for dear life.

"I don't think I've ever seen you like this, Kyouya," Airi teased, "You're normally so collected. Afraid of a little frozen water?"

"Now who's the horrible one?" Kyouya shot back.

Airi ignored him and laced her arm with his, starting to skate forward slowly. Kyouya shuffled his feet beneath him, not really grasping the concept.

"It's just like walking," Airi explained.

"Except you're on water, which is not supposed to be walked on," Kyouya pointed out.

"Stop being so cynical and skate already!"

She lunged forward, pulling Kyouya with her.

"Airi!" he gasped, "Stop it! I can't keep my balance!"

True to his word, Kyouya tipped over yet again, Airi crying out before falling on top of him. Kyouya was blinded as her hair fell in his face, tickling his nose and lips.

"You're so clumsy," Airi sighed, "I didn't expect this after dancing with you."

"That was because I was actually on my feet," he muttered, "Not strips of metal that failed at keeping me upright."

She shook her head, getting her hair out of his face and sighing as he pushed his glasses up. Without really thinking about it, she leaned down and kissed him on the nose.

As she started to pull away, she was surprised when Kyouya took her face and brought it back, placing a delicate kiss on her lips. She didn't object and instead kissed him back, not caring that people were staring.

"What was that for?" she asked as he pulled away.

"I can't kiss my girlfriend?" he taunted.

She playfully flicked his nose, her eyes widening a bit when he tilted his head up to kiss the finger that flicked him.

"You're awfully affectionate today," she said nervously.

Sure, she enjoyed being kissed and pampered by her boyfriend, but that wasn't normally how Kyouya acted. She knew that and was perfectly okay with that. So, why the sudden change in character?

Kyouya brought his head up to her ear, kissing it gently.

"Don't tell anyone," he whispered, "But I think I'm falling in love with you, Airi."

Airi's eyes got bigger than ever before. Her heart squeezed. It was almost impossible to breathe.

"Y-y-y-you… what?"

"I'm falling in love with you," he repeated, "Very hard and very fast… I don't think I'm used to this though, so you're going to have to be patient."

Airi was about to speak, when a familiar voice started screaming at them.

"_Kyouya! Airi! Are you okay? What happened? Are you unconscious? Do I need to call the paramedics!"_

Airi fumbled to get off of Kyouya as Tamaki flailed his arms at them, Haruhi sweat-dropping at the situation.

"We're fine," Kyouya sighed as he managed to stand, "Don't get so worried."

As the two of them started going at it, Airi couldn't help but stare at Kyouya. He'd just said he was falling in love with her. That was one of the biggest moments of a girl's life. But the question was…

Was she falling in love with him?

**So, that's it for now. I know it wasn't much, but hey, Kyouya confessed his feelings! Sweet, huh? But now Airi doesn't know! Gah, so confusing!**

**Well, I guess I should let you guys know that this story has fallen to number two on my priority list. I'm sorry, but I've just completely lost ideas on this one. It's not ending yet, but the updates won't be very fast (as you noticed). BUT, I _working _on a _Soul Eater _fic that I am putting my heart into right now! If you guys went and read/reviewed it, I'd love you all even more! You guys who review are awesome and I love you all! So please review! It means everything to me!**


	21. Teachings

**Holy shit you guys. It's been almost a year since I've updated this! Seriously? I didn't know I was so... gah! I'm so sorry everyone. I've just... I'm not even going into it. You are all awesome and deserve more of this story so here it is.**

Chapter 20

Much to Airi's surprise, the date went extremely well. After ice skating the four of them had gone sledding, something the boys had never done before. Tamaki screamed like he was on a roller coaster while Kyouya just ducked his head in an attempt to avoid the flurries of snow that attacked his face.

She even noticed Haruhi laughing and having a good time with Tamaki, who wouldn't seem to let go of her. Then again she couldn't really complain seeing as how after their encounter on the ice rink, Kyouya wouldn't let go of her either.

The two would get in the sled together, her in front of course, and he'd instantly wrap his arms around her waist and put his face against hers, occasionally kissing her ear or muttering a remark about how idiotic Tamaki looked at the moment. She couldn't help but giggle.

It was wonderful to see him open like this. Perhaps all that he needed was to accept the truth himself for him to become his real self. Whatever the reason was, Airi loved it. And, possibly, loved him.

"I can't remember the last time I had this much fun," he admitted to her as the four of them decided to go a walk, both couples hand in hand though Haruhi and Tamaki were rather far ahead.

"Me either," Airi sighed, "It's a nice change to see you acting like yourself."

He gave her hand a squeeze, as if apologizing for not doing so sooner.

"I was confident that I had the ability to see through other people's facades but that they could never see through mine," he said softly, "But you and Tamaki… both of you have managed to prove me wrong. And for that, I am grateful."

Airi moved closer and let go of his hand to completely hug his arm, resting her head against the side of his shoulder.

"You're such a good person, Kyouya," she murmured, "I'm so happy I met you. And now… now I'm falling in love with you."

Her words caused him to stop abruptly, Airi caught off guard but her hold on his arm kept her from moving forward.

He looked down at her with those intense gray eyes, completely serious.

"Do you mean that?" he asked.

Airi looked back at him, blue eyes blinking innocently.

"Yes," she replied, "You said you were falling in love –"

She was cut off by his lips coming down on hers, his hands cupping her face and pulling her close. Of course she was startled, but pleasantly so and continued the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed as the two expressed their feelings for each other, getting several smiles from others who were on a walk as well.

Ahead, Tamaki and Haruhi had stopped to see what their friends were up to and weren't exactly shocked by what was going on.

"He's really falling for her," Haruhi pointed out, "It's weird to see Kyouya-senpai like this… like he's enjoying life without getting something out of it."

"Of course he's getting something out of it," Tamaki commented.

Haruhi looked over at him slightly shocked. Her boyfriend was merely watching Kyouya and Airi, a blissful look on his face.

"He's getting true happiness," he answered, "Something that no amount of money or status could ever give him."

Haruhi blinked in surprise. That was rather deep for Tamaki. Still, he had a point. Kyouya was finally finding something he enjoyed that wasn't about wealth or stature or knowledge. It was just something his heart wanted. And that was something Kyouya was really in need of. Real love.

"You may be a sap," Haruhi muttered, "But you're kind of right. Kyouya's lucky to have you for a best friend… and so am I since you're my boyfriend."

She was expecting him to jump around and start rambling about something moronic, but to her surprise, he just grabbed her hand and turned her toward him.

"I'm the one who's lucky," he whispered, "To have someone as perfect as you all for myself."

Haruhi wrinkled his nose at his poetic words – she always felt like he was trying to be a prince for her like he was with the clients. But he had said that she was only for him… that made it a little bit better, right?

"Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" she sighed as he looked at her with those bright violet eyes.

"Love me?" he asked hopefully.

She pondered this for a moment, leaving him hanging in suspense, before looking back at him and smiling.

"I guess I can do that," she said playfully.

Before she could add on, Tamaki had lifted her in his arms and kissed her, spinning them around in circles like they do in those cheesy romantic comedies.

Several people in the park couldn't help but smile that day at the sight of two, happy couples showing their love in the park. It was all so romantic, it was hard to not smile at the sight.

Eventually both couples had to stop their affection and continue on their stroll; still, all four of them were practically bursting at the amount of love they held in their hearts at that moment.

Tamaki had always loved Haruhi, even when he was her daddy. Now that she loved him back, like this, he was glad he'd gotten over her fatherly feelings for her and was now able to call her his girlfriend.

Haruhi on the other hand had always been wary about Tamaki. She cared about all the members of the Host Club, though Tamaki had always stood out as the leader and the one who always strived to impress her. Everything he'd done had been for her, despite it being stupid sometimes. He really cared about her, and of course she realized that she cared for him just as much.

Kyouya never thought he'd know how to love. He was raised to not care, only to manipulate. But Tamaki had taught him that there was friendship and other more precious things. Airi only escalated that, proving to him that love and beauty and compassion were sacred as well. She was his light and he couldn't imagine himself without her now, his previous life in the shadows. It all seemed somewhat alien. He was still himself, but Airi had just… she'd opened him up and shown him all he was capable of.

And Airi couldn't be any more grateful for Kyouya. He'd taught her that people weren't always what they seemed and that love came first. There was nothing more important to her now than that love and she would always cherish it.

Despite them all being teenagers, they all felt like they had a good grasp on life and knew exactly what they were doing. That's all anyone can hope for.

**So that kind of sounded like the ending of the fic, but I'm not sure if it will be. I finished it and was like "whoa that kind of just summed up everything" without my intention. If it is the ending, I'll most likely write a sequel. If it isn't, I _promise _I'll update it sooner. PROMISE. I love you all so much and thank you for sticking with me! Reviews are loved but I love you all way more!**


	22. Numb

**Yay an update! Told you I'd keep this thing going. So yeah, I decided to keep continuing before creating a sequel. There will still probably be one but not for a while, as this one isn't exactly close to done. Well after all that cutesy love, here is the next chapter!**

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><p>Chapter 21<p>

"Mai, can I talk to you?"

The girl turned once she set her violin in its case and was surprised to see Hikaru standing at the entrance. She had stayed late in the music room (the actual one, not the one used by the Host Club) and thought that she was the last one here.

"Um, sure," she said warily, not sure what was going on, "What is it, Hikaru?"

Since the talent show, Mai had started growing to like the devilish twin, despite the fact that he tended to cause trouble. He hadn't treated her like she was better than him like everyone else did; he saw her as an equal. It was a nice change for once.

Still, that didn't explain why he was here, without Kaoru, talking to her.

"I was just wondering," he sighed, "Since the talent show… I kinda started liking you and stuff. Plus, you can tell me and Kaoru apart so that makes you extraordinary."

Mai's face flushed slightly. Hikaru wasn't the one to talk very fondly of others unless he was trying to impress someone.

"So I was thinking maybe you and I could go out sometime."

At that, she couldn't help but stare at him. Had he just asked her out? On a _date?_ She'd been asked out before, but only by guys she barely knew that wanted to be with her for fame. Hikaru had known her for some time and had never advanced on her like other boys. Perhaps he was genuine.

"Sure," she answered weakly, "I'd like that."

Hikaru gave her a bright smile as she lifted her violin case and came over to stand by him. They had exchanged phone numbers when they were partners, so he assured her that he had a way of contacting her.

"I'll call you soon," he said in a smooth voice, "Hopefully we can do something this weekend."

"Alright…"

She was still extremely meek, not used to being in such a situation.

Hikaru walked her outside to where her driver waited and said goodbye. She couldn't seem to stop smiling and waving at him before the driver finally pulled away to take her home.

He smiled and waved back until the car was completely out of view. Slowly, he let his hands sink into his pockets as he shifted his weight on to one foot, tilting his head to the side.

"Operation: _Make Haruhi Jealous_," he sighed, "Is now in motion."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Haruhi actually happened to be walking through the strip mall with Airi. Ever since the double date the two of them agreed they would spend more time together since they were dating the other's best friend.<p>

Though Haruhi wasn't very girly, Airi had convinced her to go to her with the strip mall to go shopping a little bit. The real surprise was when Airi added that she was dying to the arcade, which Haruhi didn't mind as much.

The two were walking down passed the many stores, Haruhi holding one small bag and Airi carrying two large ones in one arm. She'd managed to persuade Haruhi to buy a frilly pink shirt that looked just _adorable _on her. Not even Airi was a huge fashion person, but that top did look so good on the other girl she couldn't have it go unnoticed.

They decided to stop and grab a bite to eat, allowing Airi to rest from carrying the two boulders she seemed to carry.

"This has been really fun," Airi said through a bite of her sandwich, "Next time you get to pick."

"Fair enough," Haruhi replied, "Though I don't exactly know what I'd pick… usually I'm with the Host Club or cleaning the house or helping my Dad."

"That's fine. Hey, I could even come over and help you clean if you want. I need to get back to my roots; this whole high class thing isn't for me."

Haruhi raised a brow at that. Never had she heard a girl say such a thing as _wanting _to clean. Let alone say that she didn't enjoy being rich.

"But you're dating Kyouya-sempai," she pointed out, "Doesn't that kind of go against the 'no-high-class' thing?"

Airi shrugged and took another bite of her food.

"Yeah, but Kyouya's… different," she sighed dreamily, "He's special."

Haruhi had to admit that Airi's feelings for Kyouya were clearly deep despite how cold the man came off as to others. She knew Kyouya had a heart under that exterior but it seemed he'd also managed to steal Airi's.

"Don't you feel that way about Tamaki?" Airi asked.

The other girl's face quickly flushed. She had feelings for Tamaki, but she never enjoyed talking about them.

"Well, yeah," she muttered, "He's special and I… I love him, but still –"

Her sentence was interrupted by her phone ringing, which she was going to ignore until she saw it was from Tamaki. Airi noticed as well and urged her to answer the phone as she couldn't keep Haruhi from talking to her boyfriend.

"Hello?" she sighed as she answered the phone.

There was a loud noise from the phone that even Airi could hear, and Haruhi had to remove the phone from her ear for a moment before responding.

"Slow down, Tamaki!" she scolded, "Now, what's going on?"

Now it was almost impossible to hear his voice, causing Airi to tilt her head in confusion. She watched as Haruhi's face paled and her eyes widened as if she was in shock. The girl nodded as she listened to her boyfriend, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth.

Airi began to worry. Was something wrong? Did something happen? Whatever Tamaki was saying was clearly serious (for once, in his case) and emotional for Haruhi to have such a reaction.

"Is he…?" Haruhi trailed off as Tamaki continued to speak.

The panic flowing through Airi's veins increased. Who was she talking about? What happened to him?

Haruhi nodded at something Tamaki said and looked over at Airi.

"Yeah, she's here with me," she breathed, "Tamaki, are you _sure _about this?"

There was more conversation from the end and Airi noticed that Haruhi was actually beginning to tear up. Airi didn't think she'd ever seen the other girl cry. She was always so brave, so strong. She could put up with Tamaki and the rest of the club without breaking down. What was going on?

"Haruhi?" Airi asked worriedly, "Is everything okay?"

Haruhi looked at Airi and mouthed "one second" before listening to Tamaki again.

"Okay," she breathed, "Alright… No you don't need to pick us up, stay there with him. We'll be there as soon as possible. Okay. I love you, too. Bye."

The girl didn't even hang up. She just let the phone fall to the ground, closing itself.

Airi felt like she was going to cry or puke or both from the suspense.

"Haruhi what's going on?" she demanded, pushing the chair away from the table and standing up.

She waited a moment before the other girl turned to look at her. Her eyes were still moist, though she had yet to allow a tear to fall.

"Kyouya-sempai," she breathed, "He… he's dead."

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><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN. Bet none of you saw that coming. Honestly, I don't want to talk too much about the ending of this chapter as questions will be answered in the next chapter. Suspense! Oh how I love it.<strong>

**On another note, you all got your MaixOneoftheTwins part. Too bad Hikaru's kind of an asshole. We shall see what happens from there~**

**That's all for now! Please review, favorite, alert, whatever you want to tell me how you liked/didn't like this fic! See you soon.**


	23. Angel

**Hello people. Well, I don't know what happened to this fic's fanbase because I only got like three reviews for the last chapter and two were from friends, so... you not like it? Dx I'll do my best to improve if that's it... well here you go.**

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><p>Chapter 22<p>

Airi had leapt out of the cab before it even stopped. Haruhi called after her but she ignored the other girl, sprinting into the hospital. She ran straight to the front desk despite the fact that tears were blinding her vision.

The receptionist looked at her slightly shocked.

"Kyouya Ootori," she gasped, "Ootori. Where is he?"

At the mention of his name, the receptionist became wide-eyed. This was an Ootori hospital and of course. When the Ootori boy had come in, everyone knew where he was.

"He's in intensive care unit, but only family can –"

Airi had already started running, following the signs that pointed out where everything was.

_No, no, no this can't be happening. I finally realize I love him, he can't leave me now. Please let him live, please._

Airi finally managed to barge into the ICU, startling the few employees who were in its lobby. A familiar blonde stood up from one of the chairs and quickly went over to hug Airi.

"Where is he?" she sobbed as she clung to Tamaki, "He's alright, he has to be alright. Tamaki, tell me he's okay."

The boy reached up and petted her hair gently.

"He was pronounced legally dead when I called Haruhi," he said in a choked voice.

All feeling flew from Airi's body. She felt limp, numb, like a doll. Her knees gave out and Tamaki quickly caught her waist, supporting her as he continued explaining something. But she didn't hear.

_He's dead… Kyouya, my Kyouya is gone… This can't be happening… No. I can't live like this, not without him. _

"Airi!" Tamaki cried.

The girl was snapped from her trance and looked into the boy's big violet eyes. Somehow, despite being clouded with tears, they were filled with hope as well.

"Airi," he repeated, "They used the defibrillator on him and they got a pulse… he's in a coma right now, but he's alive."

Her head began to spin. She'd just been told her love was dead, but now he was alive by some miracle. Kyouya was alive… he was alive.

The girl slumped against Tamaki and began weeping hysterically into his neck as he patted her back and shushed her gently.

"Airi! Tamaki!"

The two looked and saw Haruhi, who was catching her breath after running after Airi, and quickly went over to her. Tamaki took her hand but still held onto Airi with his free arm, worried the girl was going to collapse from shock.

"What happened?" Haruhi gasped as she rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"He was driving," Tamaki explained, "I was in the restaurant that sat on the street he was on… I barely remember, I just remember seeing his car speeding down the road and the next thing I knew there was screeching and screaming and crashing."

Airi whimpered and Tamaki squeezed her gently, Haruhi reaching over to clench her other hand. If it hadn't been for them, Airi probably would have been a sobbing mess on the floor.

"When I looked at the wreck I saw it was Kyouya's car, so I ran out of there and went to see how he was… He smashed his skull open and broke a few ribs and there was blood everywhere…"

At that Airi let out a weak moan, causing the others to hold onto her tightly for assurance.

"They're operating on him now," Tamaki continued, "They said his head would be fine, but they were afraid one of his ribs might have punctured an organ…"

"I… I need to see him," Airi choked out, "I need to… please."

Tamaki and Haruhi looked at her sadly, noticing the employees staring.

"The hospital only let's family see patients," Tamaki admitted, "Plus he's in surgery, so you can't now."

"After," she breathed, "I have to see him."

"But –"

"I just have to."

Tamaki decided not to argue anymore. The girl was clearly in shock at the possibility of losing her boyfriend and what she needed now was comfort. He glanced over at his girlfriend and spoke to her with his eyes. She agreed and the two enveloped Airi in a hug, saying calming things and shushing her softly.

All Airi could do was sob.

* * *

><p>After an immense amount of persuasion by Tamaki, he managed to convince the staff to allow Airi to see Kyouya once he was out of surgery. They warned her that he was still in a coma, but all she wanted was to see him.<p>

She took a deep breath before entering the room. What if he looked completely different? What if he didn't remember anything when he woke up? What if she lost him? What if…?

The door made a soft creak as she opened it, stepping into a clean white room. She could hear the heart monitor's steady beat, instantly washing her with some relief. There was a chair in the corner, next to the head of the bead.

So far, he looked the same. Other than being in a hospital gown, she only saw some bandages wrapped around the side of his head from where she stood.

_Please be okay…_

She walked over and sat in the chair, pulling it closer to the bedside. Her heart almost broke at the sight of her lover.

He looked exceptionally pale and weak, his lips set in a firm line that showed no sign of emotion. His glasses were removed, making him look incomplete, as if the glasses had become a part of him and their absence was unnatural. There was a bruise on his forehead, but other than that and the bandages he didn't look too beat up. But then she remembered about his ribs and realized most of the damage was probably under the hospital gown.

With extreme caution, she reached out and placed her hand on the side of his face without the bruise or bandages, a small smile forming on her lips as she felt the familiar smoothness of his skin.

"Oh, Kyouya," she sighed, "I don't know what on earth you were doing, but… you can't ever do that again. I… I love you so much and I couldn't bear to lose you."

Her hand began to rub the side of his face weakly, afraid that she'd hurt him somehow if she applied any more pressure.

Tears welled in her eyes as she continued to speak to him, hoping somehow he could hear her.

"I lost my parents in a car accident and I can't – no I _won't_ lose you the same way. Damn it, you're the only person who even matters to me anymore. You make me so happy. With your smartass comebacks and your witty jabs at the others and the way you don't care that I fight back and yet you're still so gentle with me… Kyouya, you're all I want, you can't leave me. You just can't."

"Won't happen."

Airi gasped slightly and whirled around to see who had come in. The door was closed; no one had entered. She looked back and saw that Kyouya's lips were now turned slightly upwards, in something that was just barely a smile.

His eyes hadn't opened and he hadn't made any movements, but that was him. That was his voice. He heard her.

The tears began to fall freely down her face as she leaned over and placed her head on the pillow beside his, continuing to stroke the unharmed side of his face.

"And I thought _I _was the stupid one getting in all these near-death experiences," she muttered weakly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the faintest movement of his lips pulling up and at that, she couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

><p>"That was really sweet of you, Tamaki," Haruhi said, "Letting Airi see him instead of you. You're his best friend."<p>

Tamaki sighed and squeezed his girlfriend's hand. The two were sitting in the waiting room, unwilling to leave without Airi – and at that rate they wouldn't leave until Kyouya was okay.

"They're in love," he murmured, "Even as his best friend, I can't stand between that. He'd do the same if I were in his situation."

Haruhi didn't want to think about the possibility of losing Tamaki – this scare with Kyouya-sempai was terrifying enough. The Hosts had become her family and losing any of them wasn't something she wanted to face anytime soon.

"Do you think he's going to make it?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, his eyes lighting up in that overly optimistic way they tended to when he believed something.

"I know he is," he assured firmly, "This is Kyouya we're talking about. The only thing that could kill him would be a stock market crash."

Haruhi nudged him, but she had to admit her boyfriend was somewhat right. Kyouya was a strong person and was able to overcome so many obstacles, like the ones his father had placed in front of him his whole life. Of course, a stock market crash wasn't the only thing that could kill him but now that he had Airi he had a reason to live – someone else needed him as much as he needed them. There was no way someone like Kyouya-sempai was going to disappoint someone like that.

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><p><strong>And you all thought Kyouya was dead xD Lol I couldn't kill him off... that soon ;) Well I know this was a really emotional chapter, hence why Airi got so damn emotional. I know they only just said they loved each other, but this happened to her parents and of <em>course<em> she'd freak out. Who wouldn't?**

**Alright, that's all for now. I guess you can comment now instead of review? Or something? So do that, or whatever you want to let me know how you liked it.**


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